Life and Soul
by Cypher
Summary: A rewrite of the original Life and Soul series. Shortly after the incident with Suzunagi, the Ronins, now trying to lead normal lives, are called to battle once more against the Dynasty, a new Warlord, and find a new ally. Slash & Het, Spoilers, R
1. Chapter 1

Life and Soul

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By Cypher

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Chapter One

The snow covering the hill was calm, peaceful. It was a place where the ground was seldom revealed, where it was never warm. The white blanket gave a sense of serenity and tranquility that concealed the dark nature of the area. Hundreds of people passed the hill every day as they rode the train, feeling a calming sense wash over them as they gazed on the scene. The hill had remained unchanged for centuries.

Falling down through the layers, though, beneath the snow, beneath the ground, miles upon miles down below, existed an ice cave. It was small, barely larger than a walk-in closet, and was completely coated with ice that gave off the glow akin to that found inside of a glacier. Three of the four walls were smooth and illuminated, the ice crystals thick to prevent even the tiniest organism from penetrating the chamber.

The final wall, however, contained a figure embedded deep within the ice. Its armor, jagged and sharp, blended into the surrounding environment, almost as if it was a part of him. One had to look carefully to see the outline of what could only be described as an armor, and in fact it would probably be unnoticeable save for one fact: a human face. 

The face was pale, standing out even among the azure glow around him. While slightly distorted, the face was most definitely that of a young man in his early twenties. His mouth was set in a thin line, and his eyes were closed. He looked as if he was sleeping. The ice had preserved him perfectly, or perhaps it was more than that. 

In fact, if one stepped back and took the room in as a whole, one would find a form floating in the middle of the room, staring at the figure in the wall and chanting a haunting hymn. Its robes, hanging raggedly from its body, were translucent. The pale hands were waving quietly, forming kanji in the air that only it could see. Its eyes were glowing a dim red, unblinking and unmoving. A hazy purple sphere surrounded the Shinto priest-like figure, waves of color bleeding off into the ice before him. The malignant aura radiating from the spirit contradicted the peaceful guise it had adopted.

Abruptly, it let out an inhuman shriek and burst into black flames. Simultaneously, a long, jagged crack broke the surface of the wall containing the figure. Inside, the man's eyes snapped open, cold ice blue orbs staring beyond the crystal, to something only he could see. Then the ice surrounding him, the entire cave, shuddered and shattered, leaving only the man behind. His armor radiated with faint pink energy, and he let out a throaty roar.

~*()*~

Cye Koji let out a yell and thrashed his arms about, his eyes hysterical. 

"Cye! CYE!" Mia Koji, the man's wife, sat up and grabbed his arms, pinning them down. A cyan symbol was glowing brightly on his forehead, practically blinding her, but she kept her grip solid, eventually climbing on top of her husband to keep him from hurting her, or himself. "Cye, wake up! It's a dream! A dream!"

Cye finally let out a gasp, and his eyes lost their craziness, darting around his room until he saw Mia sitting on top of him. "W-what?"

"Are you okay?" She slid back to her side of the bed and sat up, pushing her disheveled red hair over her shoulder. He could feel a tear in her nightgown, but she wasn't worried about that right now. "What happened? Your…" She reached out and touched his forehead, tracing where the kanji had been burning only a moment before. "It was glowing."

"D-dream." He shuddered and sat up, huddling against her as if he was cold. 

"That was no ordinary dream. You haven't had a dream like that since…" Mia went quiet again. The last time he had woken up so disturbed was right before the appearance of Suzunagi. "What did you see?"

"A…an ice cave. A Nether spirit. And a…a…" He wasn't sure who the man was, but knew he was going to find out soon. His prophetic dreams, while few and far between, were always correct. "A warrior of ice. No…a Warlord of ice." He rubbed his arms, trying to banish the chill that pervaded him despite the heater being on. "The Nether Spirit released him."

Mia rested her head on Cye's shoulder, placing a brief kiss on his temple. "It's okay, now. It's over. We just have to stop this spirit from releasing him."

Cye shook his head. "No, no. This…I think it's happening now." He closed his eyes. "This…this is something big, Mia. It was so intense, so real. I…we're going to need the others."

"Are you sure?"

"I am."

Mia sighed and stroked his shoulder-length hair. "Alright, darling. Tomorrow we'll contact the guys, bring them back to the house. Right now, you should try and get some more sleep."

"No…no, I can't." He pulled away from her embrace and sat on the edge of the bed. "It was…too intense. I can't go back there, Mia. It's too dangerous, too…if I get another one…"

Mia sat up on her knees and moved behind him, rubbing his shoulders. "Alright. Why don't you go downstairs and make some tea. It's only another hour or so until the sun rises. Sage and Ryo should be up, so we can call them shortly after that."

Cye reached up to his shoulder and squeezed her hand. "Thank you. Some people wouldn't…wouldn't understand."

"After all we've been through? Cye, if you told me Godzilla was attacking Tokyo, I'd believe you."

A small smile crossed across his face, and he tilted his head back to give her a chaste kiss. "I love you."

"I love you too. Now go on, I'll be down in a minute."

Cye nodded and grabbed his robe on the way to the door.

Mia sat back and looked out the window. It had only been a few months since the Ronins had gained new armors, and while they promised to practice, they left Toyama, to follow their own lives. _They're not going to want to leave._ She climbed off the bed and snagged her own robe, hanging on the back of her vanity chair. _This is going to be hard on all of them._ She stepped out of her bedroom and walked towards the stairs. _Until we can contact them, we'll go to the library, see if we can find this…ice warlord._

~*()*~

Sage Date, warrior of light, was already awake when Cye called. He, like some of the others, found themselves developing extra-sensory capabilities. Cye, being the oldest, had developed his first, when his ability of foresight tore him from his sleep one night while hanging in the Dynasty dungeon during the second half of the war. 

Sage had discovered that his healing capabilities, initially enhanced by his first Halo armor, had remained as potent when the power had been destroyed in Africa. With the advent of his second armor, his healing developed another quality: empathy. It was especially strong with his fellow armor bearers, and early that morning something had registered on that power, something so strong and terrifying that it had jolted him out of a deep slumber.

He had immediately meditated on it, trying to hunt down what had caused such an unusual reaction. All he could figure out, though, was that it had to do with his bond with one of his friends. Without donning the armor, he couldn't pinpoint which of the four it was, though. When he had returned to Sendai to begin the process of taking over the family dojo, he made a promise not to use his armor unless the world was threatened by the Dynasty once more. It wasn't just a promise to himself, but to his grandfather and family. Unlike the other Ronins, his family knew of his role in the war, and the risks he had taken to save them from the darkness.

As he hung up the phone, though, he knew that he'd have to leave once more. It would take about a day to travel from his home to Toyama, but once there he could use his armor to run the way to Mia's house. His parents wouldn't be happy, but they wouldn't stop him, at least. Standing, he left the dojo office, nodding to Satsuki as she swept the dojo floor. She wasn't going to be an instructor, but like all Date children, her responsibilities included taking care of the family business.

He went past the small Zen garden his grandfather spent most of his time in, reaching out to try and sense him. His grandfather had been the one training him in his empathic capabilities. It was logical, as he was the one who had the healing gift before Sage. He had managed to find a way to sense most of his family, and even some of his students when they were training, but his grandfather was still blank to him. He took it as a challenge, that when he finally could sense the eldest Date, his training would be near its completion.

At the very end of the hall, where he was headed, was a small room. It was a small shrine of the Dates. One wall was dedicated to the Dates that had come before them, including the legendary General Date of ancient times, and the lesser known Seiji Date, the one who trained with the first Halo armor. Other parts of the room were occupied with crystals, wards to keep out evil spirits. Artifacts, from swords to armors, were displayed proudly, and one wall there was even a framed parchment depicting the Halo armor kneeling before a monk: the Ancient.

And then, in one corner of the room, the walls were devoid of everything, the space around it empty save for one box, which had a golden lightning bolt in a circle. There were no other identifying marks, it simply stood there, imposing. Sage spent time with it every day. He never removed its contents, simply communed with them to keep in touch with its powers. Now, however, that would change. It was time to don the armor once more.

"I see you are returning to Toyama."

Sage ducked his head. His grandfather had snuck up on him once more. "Yes."

"Talpa is destroyed."

"It is another evil, one that Cye believes will be just as dangerous."

His grandfather walked over to stand next to him, his eyes also locked on the box. He was a short man, even in the Date family. His age left him bald, but his eyes still held a spark that belied their age. He was simply dressed in priest's robes. Sage couldn't recall a time he'd worn any type of 'modern' clothes. "He is what awakened you earlier?"

"Yes, Grandfather. His vision was so powerful it disturbed me."

His grandfather was silent for a minute, and Sage wondered if he would ask him not to go.

"I have sensed it, as well. Something…dark has returned. You said there are Guardians of the Netherworld?"

"Yes, the Warlords. They have the an Ancient among them, Kayura. They'll be able to help us repel this new foe."

"I would not be so quick to place my trust in them, or in their power." He closed his eyes. "They contain the power of the old evil."

Sage finally faced the old man. "You've seen something." His grandfather had no foresight abilities, per se, but he had some technique of learning of future events. He had seen the advent of Talpa's rise, and the call of Sage, when the blond had only been a child. "What. Anything you know can help."

"This…evil is unlike the old darkness. Yes, it has his power, but the Guardians will not be able to stand against it." His grandfather turned and faced the picture of Halo. "They will no longer be your allies. They will fall, and with it, the protection of the Netherworld."

"Will the armies be raised again? Will he attack Toyama?"

"That…I cannot see." 

Sage ran a hand through his hair, brushing it out of his eye a moment. "Your visions don't see everything. They didn't see Talpa rising again, or the events of New York. They also didn't reveal that Talpa would fall, or that we'd win the battle of Infernos. Perhaps you are missing something this time, as well.

His grandfather turned and finally looked Sage in the eyes. "You are right, of course. I merely glimpsed the fall of the Guardians. But I saw something else…" He got a far away look, and Sage could swear he saw worry in the old man's eyes. "When you return, Sage, this will not be the same family you left."

Sage sighed and opened the box, running his fingers over the leather sheathed no-datchi. "I understand. Mother and father will be resentful, but they know I have a duty to fulfill." He waited for his grandfather to say more, but the old man remained silent, respectfully turning around. He nodded and reached into the box, carefully lifting the Halo helmet. Unlike his last armor, this one had no kanji orb. He merely had to accept the power into him.

Lifting the helmet into the air with one hand, he stood tall and raised his chin. The armor's power was throbbing, needing to be awakened. It, too, sensed the new darkness, and it glowed a soft green. In response, Sage's kanji of wisdom lit up on his forehead. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Armor of Halo." The helmet flashed, turning into a handful of cherry blossoms, and left Sage's hand. The blossoms swirled around Sage's body, the new armor outlining him faintly for a minute. A minute later the box no longer held anything in it, its top replaced. Sage looked no different, but he could feel the armor's power in him, gathering its strength and adjusting to his body once more. 

"Good luck, Sage. I fear this enemy will be far harder than any you've faced thus far."

Sage bowed his head to his grandfather, before he walked out of the shrine, through the house, and onto the streets. The train station was only a few blocks away, and it wouldn't take long for him to walk. He had only taken a few steps when his cell phone let out a shrill sound, and he pulled it out of his pocket reflexively. _I'll have to get rid of this before I reach Mia's._ "Date Sage."

"Sage! I can't sense her, I can't sense her at all!"

Sage held the phone away from his ear a minute, wincing at Ryo's loud tone. "Calm down, Ryo. Explain from the beginning."

~*()*~

"This is where you grew up, Ryo?"

Ryo nodded at Yulie, ruffling the teen's hair as they walked through the forest. "Yep. Dad had a cabin out here, and when the Ancient came with White Blaze, he thought it was best I live with them out here, away from civilization."

"I thought your dad was dead." Yulie winced as he realized how tactless his comment had been. "Sorry."

"No, it's alright. I came to terms with it a while ago." Ryo put his hands behind his head. "He was doing a special for National Geographic, and there was an accident with some lions. I'm not exactly sure how he did it, but the Ancient made sure no one came looking for me, or came to claim the cabin."

"What about your mom?"

"She died giving birth to me." Ryo looked into the dawning sky. Yulie had been given a few days off from school, and had asked if he could hang out with Ryo. One thing led to another and before he knew it, Ryo was talked into taking Yulie to see his home. _Of course, I haven't been there in a while. Probably needs to be cleaned out of dust, bugs, and all that crap._

And Yulie was more than eager to help if it meant he could hang out with his Ronin friend. Lately, due to school, kendo, and other duties, the teen hadn't been able to see his friends from the Dynasty War very often. Sage was the only one who kept regular contact, and that was only because he taught Yulie kendo for a year or so. 

"Hey, when are you gonna put it on?"

"My armor?" Ryo shook his head. "I really shouldn't."

"We're in the middle of a forest. Who's gonna see?"

"Maybe later."

"Aww." Yulie kicked the ground. Sometimes it was hard to believe the kid was nearly fourteen. Every now and then he acted exactly like he had during the wars. "Well, at least we'll get to see White Blaze, right?"

Ryo did nod at that. After the incident with Suzunagi, White Blaze had vanished for a while, but his connection with the tiger, ever strong, had let him know he was safe back 'home.' Since the only two homes the tiger knew was the Koji mansion and the Sanada cabin, and Cye hadn't called yelling at him about his 'bloody tiger swimming in the lake and scaring the fish,' he was at the cabin. "I'm sure he'll be glad to see you."

"You too. When was the last time you saw him?"

Ryo wasn't sure. He had seen the vision of White Blaze in the graveyard when freeing Suzunagi from her hatred, but he hadn't actually seen the tiger since the whole mess in Africa. He had trained with the Warlords a bit, keeping constant contact with Kayura in case his efforts were needed to quell any evil rebellions, but he hadn't spent much time at any one place for a long time. Since gaining the new armor, he had been training, but he kept on the move, even stopping by Mount Fuji for a week. 

"Hey, is that it?"

Ryo looked to where Yulie was pointing, and grinned as he spotted the small cottage-like building. It was raised up by a few feet, with stairs raising against the side of the wall. There were no windows on this side of the cabin, but the door looked like it was still in top shape, with a few scratch marks. Those were due to White Blaze, the few times the cat had scratched to come in. After the third time, Ryo had just let him come in. He was like family, after all. _Speaking of Blaze…_ His eyes scanned the clearing, and he could feel a stare on him. _Where are you…_ There was a blur in his peripheral vision, and he jumped back as Yulie let out a surprised laugh. 

"White Blaze! Get off!"

Ryo crossed his arms as the white tiger licked the teen's face, pinning the boy's body with his weight. "What, you greet Yulie enthusiastically, and don't even give me a second glance?" White Blaze let out a challenging growl. "You talking back to me?" Ryo prepared himself. This was about to degenerate into a tiger versus Ronin match. "Come on, boy. Bring it on."

White Blaze swished his tail a minute, as if thinking it over, then leapt off Yulie, bounded off a tree, and collided with Ryo's chest. Ryo let out his own laugh as they tumbled a bit, the feline pawing at him while he landed soft blows with his fists. Neither were doing real damage, just having fun.

"That's it, Ryo! Show him who's boss!"

White Blaze struck Yulie with a glare from his chestnut eyes, giving Ryo an opening to snag the animal in a headlock. "Gotcha!" He hugged the tiger briefly before the mock battle continued, Yulie cheering every now and then. Then White Blaze let loose with a particularly strong paw swing, sending Ryo a few feet away. 

"Ryo! You okay?"

Ryo pushed himself up onto his knees, opening his mouth to respond. Instead, a gasp escaped his lips, and he fell forward, his hands landing on the ground as he panted, staring at the forest floor. He wasn't in pain from White Blaze's blow, but from something else. His kanji lit up briefly, and Yulie's cries faded into the distance. His mind turned inward, searching for the soft link he had grown accustomed to having since the Dynasty wars.

Instead, all he found was silence. _"Kayura!"_ There was nothing, not even a whisper of a response. Something had happened, something bad. The last time he had felt a void like this was when the Ancient had left him to form a bridge to Talpa's castle. _No, no she can't be dead!_ The other three Warlords would've protected her, allowed her to escape to the mortal realm for help. Something was drastically wrong. Without consciously realizing it, he summoned his sub-armor, the black metal mesh replacing his outfit in the blink of an eye. 

He could feel his kanji burning, actually burning, as he tried to enter the other world. Kayura had shown him how, though he wasn't sure if he could without her link to help guide him. Then he felt his body dissipate, begin to leave the physical plane so that it could transport to the Nether Realm. Just as he was about to vanish, though, a flash of pain coursed through him, and he screamed. Something from the other side had blocked him, and forced him back into the Earth realm. He collapsed on the ground, panting. 

Slowly, he became aware of Yulie calling his name, and White Blaze's presence beside him, nudging him with his nose. "Sage…call Sage," was all he managed to get out as he panted, trying to get himself under control again. Sage was the only one who would know what was going on, the only other one who could extend himself into the Nether World through meditation. He had to know what was going on.

__

A phone was pressed into his hand, and he realized Yulie had already dialed for him. He barely heard Sage announce himself before he started talking. "Sage! I can't sense her, I can't sense her at all!" He heard Sage tell him to calm down, and to start from the beginning. He couldn't calm himself completely, though, not until he knew what was going on in the Nether World. When Sage told him of Cye's vision, of the new evil, he paled. _Kayura…_ That could explain it. With the Ancient's powers, she couldn't be converted, but she could be killed. 

"Ryo, listen to me. I need you to calm yourself enough to focus."

Ryo took a few more gulps of air, willing himself to do as Sage ordered. Sage was always the calm, collected one. He had to listen to Sage, to draw strength from the control in his voice. "Okay, okay, I'm calm."

"Find some way, other than your armor, to get to the Koji house. I'll call Cye and tell him you're on your way. He's taking care of contacting Kento and Rowen. We should all be together in a day or so, and then we can figure out what to do." Ryo heard Sage mutter something, and someone saying they were sorry. "I'll meditate on the train ride over. I'll see if I can get any information, but I can't guarantee I'll be able to find anything."

"As long as you try. I'll see you in a day, Sage."

"Be careful, Ryo. If the Dynasty does have a new master, he may attack while we're separated."

"I understand. Bye, Sage." Ryo hung up and sat back, his head falling back as he groaned. He knew it, he just knew the peace wouldn't last. 

"Ryo? Do we have another war?"

Ryo opened his eyes to slits and eyed Yulie. "Probably, but you're not-"

"Oh yes I am." Yulie crossed his arms and tried to give Ryo a no-nonsense look. "I can fight a lot better than I did back then, and besides, if you guys go off to do battle, then someone has to stick around to protect Mia."

"Mia can fight. And Anubis gave her those wards."

"The wards may not work any more, and one person against a swarm of Dynasty soldiers isn't going to do much. With two there's more of a chance. Besides, someone needs to keep an eye on you, in case you get another shock to your system."

"Another…" He glanced down to his sub-armor. Yulie was right. It had formed out of instinct, and if that happened in public, his cover would be blown. The only reason he and the other Ronins were currently left alone was due to the fact that the government believed their armors had been destroyed. "Fine, but you call your parents and tell them, and once we get to Mia's, if everyone agrees you should go-"

"Then I'll go. Until then," Yulie grabbed Ryo's arm and helped pull him to his feet, "we need to get to the city and figure out how to get to Mia's."

"I was going to ride White Blaze…"

"You mean the tiger that just took off like a bat out of hell in the direction of Toyama?"

Ryo blinked and looked around, before sighing and nodding. "Figures he'd leave when I need him. Let's head back to the car. The traffic will be hell, but if we drive all day and most of the night, we should make it."

"Right."

They didn't say much as they walked back to the car, the cabin, and vacation, completely forgotten. As they approached the edge of the forest, Ryo nudged his powers, and reluctantly, his sub-armor vanished. _Guess there's no more time for practices. _As he unlocked the door to the jeep, he closed his eyes and leaned against the edge of the door.

"Ryo?" Yulie glanced around, making sure no one was around in case he armored up again.

There was a new link in his mind. _No, not new._ It was simply a link he hadn't heard in a long time, not since he'd given up his powers, both Ancient and armor, to Kayura. Kayura had said that since he was alive, the link would still exist, but it would remain dormant as long as she was the Ancient. 

"Ryo, what's wrong."

He could feel the pain through the link, the cries for help, salvation. _We're coming._ The link was too weak to communicate through, but it was strong enough to detect where it was coming from. He climbed into the car, Yulie scrambling to get in as Ryo gunned the engine. "Someone needs our help. Hang on." He shifted the vehicle into gear and punched the gas. He didn't have much time, not if he was going to save his old friend, the one who had helped so much through the second Dynasty war: Anubis.

~*()*~

"Snake Fang Strike!" 

The priest in warrior's clothing hissed as one of the many swords grazed his upper arm. The last thing he needed was poison in his system, especially with his other injuries. _Bravo, Anubis. You're as much of a whiner as Kayura used to be._ He winced as the name brought forth the memory of what had transpired only a short couple hours ago.

It had been a typical morning for him, getting up early, joining Cale in an early morning work out, and then breaking for breakfast. Only they never got past the first set of exercises. Just as he was about to land a blow on Cale, Kayura let out a wail of pain. Cale vanished immediately, and Anubis knew when he reappeared, he would be in full armor, with the other Warlords. He, not having any armor, grabbed a sword and ran for the room the noise had originated from.

The hallway that led to the room was filled with three Warlords, all battling a warrior encased in what looked like an armor of ice. It could only be ice, considering the atmosphere was a lot colder than it normally was. Knowing he wouldn't stand a shot against an armored foe, he slipped quietly into Kayura's meditation room, figuring he could give her first aid, if necessary. It was a skill Mia had taught him in case anything happened to her or Yulie during the second war. 

What he saw, though, petrified him. Kayura was in the room, her arms crossed in a defensive pose with the Staff jutting outward just slightly. Anubis recognized the position, a summoning of a mystic shield from the Staff. Only it hadn't seemed to work, as she was encased, head to toe, in a large ice crystal. Her face was frozen in a look of horror, her eyes wide and her mouth open. He couldn't even sense the energies of the Staff. He struck the block with his sword, only to have the weapon shatter against it. "How…"

It was then he realized she wasn't wearing the armor of Cruelty. He quickly looked around, trying to find the kanji orb, but it wasn't there. _Her room._ backed up to the door, then peeked outside. The hallway, now covered in ice, was quiet. He didn't see any Warlord popsicles, so he assumed the fighting had moved on. He stepped out, his guard up.

"Hello, Anubis."

Anubis whirled around, his hands moving into a defensive pose. The man before him had cold eyes, and was giving him a disgusted look. The armor he wore looked to be made of ice, but it was tinted purple. _Nether spirit energies._ After Badamon had been destroyed, Kayura had been systematically wiping out any other Nether spirits. Despite her efforts over the years, though, there were still a handful that had vanished without a trace. _They must have infused with this warrior. _"Who are you."

"So you don't remember me. It doesn't matter." The pale blue eyes narrowed, and a number of sharp ice projectiles formed in the air around him. "I won't risk having a traitor in my ranks." The ice flew straight at him, most tearing at his clothes, and a number of others actually slicing him as they went by. He tried to dodge as many as he could, but it seemed that no matter where he went there were more. One finally caught him in the leg and he fell, crashing into the icy floor. He saw puffs of his breath as he willed the pain he was feeling to the back of his mind. 

As his eyes traveled past the red patches he was leaving on the ice, he caught sight of another fallen form, behind the ice warrior. The brown armor was huddled over, and pink energies were slithering up from the ice over the metal form. _Cale!_ He pushed himself up, expecting the enemy to be upon him. Instead, he saw the warrior looking over his shoulder, as if searching for something. Not wanting to let the opportunity escape him, he got to his feet and started running. He heard more ice shards coming at him, and was able to duck around a corner, the ice shattering as it flew into the wall.

"Venom, destroy the traitor! Do not let him escape!"

Anubis shuddered, partially from the cold, but also from the memories the order invoked. _The bridge._ There was one doorway within the castle that led to the human world. It had no set destination, rather, the person going through had to will themselves to their destination. _A Ronin in the human world. I have to warn them._ At the back of his mind was a nagging voice that said he knew who this enemy was, but he couldn't focus on it now. Just as he reached the next hallway, Sehkmet had let loose his attack. 

He ground his teeth together, trying to will the poison not to affect him. The red glow in Sehkmet's eyes told him there was no way to reach his friend, not at the moment. _How did he convert them so quickly?! _This warrior was strong, powerful.

"Give up, traitor. You can't escape me!"

Had Anubis been in better condition, he would've taken on the Warlord. Even now he was one of the best warriors, and had beaten Sehkmet in sub-armor. His vision began to get fuzzy at the edges, and his pace slowed. _No…not yet, I can't stop yet._ Rounding one more corner, he leaned against the wall, panting. _Where…where is that stupid bridge?!_ He stumbled along the wall, hearing a crash behind him. _Guess he slipped on the ice._ He felt energy lance his hand as he touched the next doorway, and paused. _Here…_ He focused his thoughts, trying to focus his thoughts. _Near a Ronin. Put me near a Ronin that could help._ Hoping that was enough, he stepped through the doorway.

~*()*~

Yulie wasn't sure where Ryo was driving, but the fact that he was doing it like the beasts of Hades were on their tail, he didn't question it. His kanji hadn't relit, which was a good sign, but he could see a faint glow around the older man's clothes. _His armor wants to don, and he's holding it at bay._ Whoever this person was that needed help, it was obviously urgent if it caused the armor to react in such a way. 

He had to grab the safety strap as Ryo took the next turn on two wheels, nearly tipping the vehicle over. "I suppose asking you to slow down wouldn't do much?" Ryo didn't answer him, but the glow became solid, and the sub-armor formed around his friend again. _Okay. That isn't a good sign._ Yulie glanced out the window, relieved to see they were approaching an industrial district. On a Sunday, this early in the morning, there wouldn't be anybody who could see him, though the way Ryo was speeding, they might have some police on them soon enough.

Then, with a jerk, Ryo stopped the car and stared out the windshield. "Stay here." He practically tore the door off and got out of the car. Yulie looked out the windshield and spotted the form lying a few feet away in the ground. He wondered who it was, until he realized the hair wasn't covered in blood, but was naturally red. It was also long, and Yulie only knew one person with red hair who let it hang down. Ignoring Ryo's earlier order, he got out of the car and reached under his seat, pulling the first aid kit out, and headed for Anubis.

Ryo was currently kneeling by the fallen man, but his fingers were simply reaching blindly for a pulse. His eyes were on the surrounding area, trying to see if there were any immediate threats. The sight of the warrior-turned-Ancient lying there like a blood soaked rag caused him to stumble in his steps. _God…_ He felt bile rise in his throat, and turned his head a minute to gather himself. _Calm down. Just…detach yourself, like Sage taught you._

Thanks to a bit of stage fright, Sage had had to teach Yulie to separate his mind from his emotions before a match. _Never thought I'd be using it like this._ He didn't want to. He wanted to hide behind Ryo, and be told it would be fine. He knew he couldn't, though. Ryo was groping blindly, and if there was a chance of Anubis surviving, someone had to tend to his wounds. Taking a deep breath and locking his feelings into a tight box in his mind, Yulie knelt on the other side of Anubis and took the man's wrist, finding the pulse by himself. It was faint, but it was there. "Anubis?" The fact that his voice was shaky and a pitch too high didn't escape his notice.

Ryo finally caught that he was there, and gave Yulie a stern look. "I told you to-"

"You keep guard, I'll take care of him. Besides, if some Dynasty goons do come, I'll be a sitting duck in that car. At least this way I can protect Anubis while you fight." He tentatively turned Anubis onto his back and shied away as he took in all the wounds. One, on the arm, was a sickly green color. _Sehkmet's poison._ He searched through the kit and found an anti-venom serum. It wouldn't be strong enough to cure him, but it would stave off immediate death. Pulling the cap off the needle, he hesitated, then jabbed it into the infected wound, injecting the liquid. 

"Alright, but next time-"

"Ryo, can you lecture later?" He was trying to remember everything Mia and Sage had taught him, but they had never expected something like this. A few cuts, a broken bone, but not hundreds of lacerations that were no infected with poison. _There's no way I have enough gauze to cover every one._ He recalled what Mia had shown him, about checking necks, and slipped his hands around Anubis'. _Feels intact._ He realized Ryo had stopped talking, and looked up briefly to see that Ryo was checking the perimeter. _Good._

Taking a deep breath, he slowly peeled the tattered shirt back. Anubis was covered with cuts, some only scratches, but a majority were deep enough that he must've lost a lot of blood just trying to get here. He took the surgical scissors and cut off the shirt. They'd clean him up later. For now, Yulie unwound a bandage and started covering the deepest of the cuts. Ten minutes later, while the bandages were becoming blood soaked, Yulie called Ryo over.

"I think that's all I can do. Short of bringing him to the hospital."

Ryo carefully lifted the unconscious man and brought him to the jeep, gently laying him in the back seat. "Think he'd make it to Mia's?"

Yulie pulled a wet wipe from the kit and began scrubbing at his hands. His clothes were ruined. _Mom's going to be furious._ "No, I don't think so. I mean, we could try, but it's a long way."

Ryo bit his lip, pulling out an emergency blanket and tucking it around the ex-Warlord. "Kyoto's about a three hour drive."

Yulie's brow furrowed as he tried to follow Ryo's train of thought. "Kento? What can he do?"

"Not Kento, Rowen."

"What he needs is Sage."

"Rowen can teleport." Ryo shut the back door and climbed into the vehicle, taking a moment to scan the construction site once more. "Rowen can get to Sage, and have him heal Anubis."

Yulie climbed into the passenger seat once more, glancing over his shoulder to the back seat. "Oh. I guess we should get going."

"Right." Ryo started the car and made a tight U-turn, heading for the nearest freeway. "You know, Yulie..."

Yulie sighed and gave up on his hands. There was just too much blood for one wet wipe to deal with. "Yeah?"

"You disobeyed me."

Yulie winced. "Yeah, I'm…sorry."

"Well, you handled yourself pretty well, and got right down to helping Anubis…" Ryo pulled up to a stoplight, his sub-armor fading as they approached civilization. He reached over and patted Yulie on the shoulder. "Just…I'm proud of what you did. You've matured well."

Yulie offered Ryo a shy smile. "Being part of a world-saving war does tend to do that to a kid."

Ryo smiled briefly, nodded, and drove up the nearest onramp. "Just don't do it during this war, okay? If anything happened to you…"

"I know, Ryo. I won't."

"Good." Ryo put on his blinker and merged into the carpool lane. "I figure we'll stop at Kento's place, and you and he can watch over Anubis while I go get Rowen. From there we'll grab Sage, and head to Mia's."

"Right. The whole gang, together again."

"I just wish it was under better circumstances."

Yulie nodded and settled into watching the cars go by. _Well, here we come, Kyoto._

~*()*~

Kento Rei Faun was not a typical eighteen year old. While in America, before the whole incident in New York, he had won the lottery. It wasn't a huge jackpot, but it was large enough that he was pretty well off. He hadn't spent it on himself, oh no. Part of it went to the family of the victims of the Halo armor, anonymously, of course. Some of it he put into trust accounts for his younger brothers and sisters, so they'd have money to attend college. 

The rest of it, though, went to buying a few houses so that his family, used to living in a rather small place, could finally live in a manner he had experienced while rooming with Mia. In total, the Rei Faun family, all three generations, owned four houses. Add to that the restaurant, day care, and a few other businesses, and the enter block was soon dubbed the Faun block. There was almost no place they didn't own on that one street. 

Kento wasn't left out of this, either. He had started a landscaping service. With his more controlled power of moving the Earth, as well as his newer ability to commune with vegetation, he was one of the more well known landscapers of the area. Rather than buy a house, he had made the second floor of his building an apartment. It wasn't anything fancy, but he liked to call it home. 

When Cye's call came through, Kento immediately knew there was something wrong. The tone was too serious, and there was no joking banter. Normally when Cye called they exchanged a few kidding words before getting down to business. This time, Cye had simply told him that the Dynasty was back, in the version of a new Warlord. Everyone was meeting at the Koji household, and, knowing how important this was, Kento promised to be there as well.

Fifteen minutes later, Cye called again, saying that Rowen wasn't picking up his cell phone. Rowen's houseline was constantly taken by his computer's internet, so the cell phone was the only way to contact him. Kento said he'd check it out, especially since Rowen didn't have class today.

He had been surprised to find that Rowen had transferred to Kyoto University, but he supposed it was only logical. Tokyo University held too many bad memories of Suzunagi. Having grown up with Rowen as a friend, he thought it'd be pretty cool. And the nights they had been able to hang out, it was. Unfortunately, those nights they could hang out, between Rowen's school and Kento's work, were growing fewer and fewer.

_Ah well. We'll hang out more after this fight._ He hadn't actually donned his armor for a while, but he'd never put it away. He'd simply kept it dormant. Rowen did as well, though Kento had the suspicion that his friend had put it on a few times and taken a few flights. _Maybe he's out flying, and that's why he's not answering. _Shrugging, he turned his phone on again and dialed his cousin's business. He ran an accounting business at the end of the block, but sometimes helped Kento with certain jobs. While he was gone, he figured his cousin could handle the business. 

Actually, all he'd have to do was finish up the jobs that he was currently working on. He'd close down after that. His family would watch the building for him, and they wouldn't ask where he'd been. They knew he was part of something big, but had never pestered him about it. He suspected his grandmother knew the truth, but then, his grandfather had been the one who told him of the armor legend. 

After setting things up with his cousin, Kento got sucked into organizing his affairs, making sure he left clear instructions of what needed to be done, what clients had paid and which still owed him, and, though he hated to do it, made sure his Will was up to date. Should any other Ronin bring up Wills and dying, Kento would be the first to tell them to get off the topic and cheer them up. That didn't mean he was ignorant. He knew quite well the risks of a war, and he didn't want to leave his family with a mess.

By the time he stepped out the door to go look for Rowen, he saw a jeep pulling up in front of his business, a very familiar red jeep. "Ryo?" Mia had sold the old thing to him shortly before she and Cye tied the knot. He grinned as Yulie hopped out of the passenger side. "Hey, squirt! Whatcha…" He quieted down as Yulie ignored him and opened the door to the back seat. 

Ryo stepped around the jeep and nodded to Kento. "Mind if we use your pad? We found him like this, and at this point the needs Sage. Since Rowen can teleport…"

Kento finally caught a glimpse of the injured man, and quickly went over to help Yulie pull him out. "Anubis? Ryo, what's going on?"

"Something big in the Dynasty. Didn't Cye-"

"Cye called, but he didn't say that the Nether world had already been taken over." Kento hefted Anubis into his arms and indicated Yulie should open the door to the building.

"Well, something's gone down. I've lost my connection with Kayura, and Anubis…" Ryo shook his head. "This is quickly becoming a very bad situation." Ryo followed Kento inside.

"No kidding. Yulie, go across the street and three buildings down left. You'll come across a small acupuncture business. Tell my aunt to close up and get over here." Kento started climbing the stairs, hearing Yulie scamper out.

"Acupuncture?"

"She's also a registered nurse. Should help buy Anubis some time." Kento laid Anubis on the bed, carefully avoiding the now pussy wound on his arm. He recognized Sehkmet's work, and didn't want to risk getting the toxin in his system. "I'll go find Rowen-"

"I was going to-"

"I know his usual haunts, Ryo. I'll find him far faster than you. You stay here, warn my aunt of the poison and make sure Anubis is okay. I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Can't you call him?"

"He's got his cell phone off, for some reason." Kento headed for the stairs. "Help yourself to whatever. Mi casa es tu casa."

"Huh?"

"An American saying. I'll explain later." He hurried down the stairs and left the building, noting that Yulie was just now crossing the street with his aunt. He climbed into his own car and pulled out, heading for the college campus. To make sure he was there, Kento focused his armor energies, searching out its companions. He immediately felt Ryo nearby. Rowen's energy was weaker, but it was at the campus. _Huh, wonder what's going on._

~*()*~

Normally, when Rowen had a day with no classes, he slept in until noon, and then relaxed the rest of the day, sometimes getting ahead on his homework or playing a video game. He was planning on doing that today, as it had been a particularly grueling week with four midterms, two quizzes, and three written reports. Normally his weeks weren't that bad, but they were nearing the end of the year, which meant the teachers were rushing to get everything finished.

But today, at a time that he considered ungodly, a professor had called and asked him to come in. Some new students with special status were going to be touring the campus, and one of the guides had fallen sick. Since Rowen had been a special status student, entering college a full year before his peers, the professor figured he'd be the perfect fill-in.

And of course, Rowen couldn't say no. So, taking a quick shower and tossing on whatever clean clothes he had, after making a mental note of doing laundry later, he hurried out of his apartment and jogged to campus. He only lived a block away, but the orientation had already begun. After that was peer advising, which Rowen would help in, to give suggestions of what classes they should take to help make the transition easier. Then there was a tour of campus, but Rowen wasn't sure if he'd be doing that.

Just before the students came in to begin the advising, his cell phone went off, which earned him a stern glare from the professor on call. He shrugged helplessly before he pulled the phone out and shut it off. If it was really important they'd try calling him later. Putting the device away, he sat back and waited for the first student.

Forty minutes and seven students later, Rowen arched his back and stretched. They were almost done with the advising, he personally having just two students left, one of which was coming over right now. He closed his eyes as he moved his neck, then relaxed against the chair again. "Sorry about that. Stiff chair."

"I understand." The student ran a hand through his hair, and Rowen blinked as he caught sight of the ultramarine hair that seemed very familiar to him. In fact, if you took away the headband he still wore and the dangling forelock, Rowen could've sworn his was looking in a mirror. "So, how do we start?"

Rowen shook himself out of his surprise, still trying to remember where he had seen that face before. The blue eyes struck him, though blue eyes weren't that uncommon. _He looks like me--no way. He couldn't…he's still in high school._ "Well, let's see, where's your transcript…Richard Hashiba?" Rowen's head snapped back up and he took in the person before him, his mind finally making the connection.

"Yes." Richard shifted uncomfortably in his seat, his eyebrows raising. "Is there…something wrong?"

"Richard, it's me. Don't you recognize--no, no I suppose you wouldn't. It's been a while."

Richard frowned, biting his lip in concentration. "Actually…you do look…familiar."

"It's me, Rowen."

"Rowen…?"

"Rowen your big brother! Sheesh, don't tell me I'm that forgettable."  
"Oh. OH! Rowen!" Richard's business face faded to be replaced by a smile. He stood up and leaned over. Rowen followed suit and the two embraced in a hug, though the professor coughed after a minute, and they sat back down. "Where've you been? Mom and I have been trying to reach you for a while."

"I had…things to take care of in Toyama. And then I got busy in Tokyo for a bit. It's been a while."

"Do you still have the…" Richard glanced over to the professor and lowered his voice. "The armor?"

"How do you-"

"Mom was at the United Nations when that whole eclipse thing was going on. I…we were worried."

"Even dad?" Richard scowled, and Rowen ducked his head. "Sorry. I forgot you and he…yeah. So, what're you doing at Kyoto university?"

"I tested up. I tried for Tokyo, but," he shrugged, "I guess I'm not as smart as you. Kyoto was my second choice, though, and I made it in. So I took it."

"How was America?"  
"Well-"

The professor finally stepped over to their table. "Mr. Hashiba. You do have a job to do."

Rowen nodded. "Right, sorry sir. Um, why don't I register you last, and then, can I give him a personal tour?"

"You two are family?"

"Yeah. The name didn't give it away?"

The professor leveled Richard with a stern look, and the teen quickly looked away, hunching his shoulders a bit. "Why don't you go to the one of the other students. Mr. Hashiba will join you when he's finished here."

Richard nodded as Rowen handed him his transcript, and quickly moved to another advisor's table.

_Sorry about that, Richard. _"Sorry, sir."

"He was right, I should have noticed the name. I'm sorry."

"It's alright. It's probably best I don't sign him up, but the personal tour…?"

"That's fine. And to make him feel more comfortable, tell him it's an honor to have another Hashiba attending our fine institution."

Rowen nodded, fighting the urge to roll his eyes. Even though Richard didn't like their father, he had made a rather prominent name among the academic community, and colleges were fighting over the honor of having his sons attend. _You'd think he'd invented cold fusion or something._ Still, it was nice to be recognized for something other than being one of the people wearing an armor that caused an astronomical anomaly.

The last student was very cooperative, and Rowen finished up with her in a scant ten minutes. He saw Richard was still enrolling into his classes, so he took the opportunity to run to the restroom. When he moved to Kyoto, he knew there was a chance he'd run into his little brother, but he had believed it was a rather slim chance. He barely had time to hang out with Kento. Searching for his brother was out of the question. _Hey, when'd he get back, anyway?_

When their mother had remarried, it had been to an American, and Richard had participated in a foreign exchange student program. Last Rowen had heard, Richard was still there, doing well in high school. _Of course, that was well over a year ago. _He hadn't meant to lose contact, but between the first Dynasty war and the college entrance exams, he'd lost track of what his brother had been doing. _Guess mom finally brought him back home._ After the divorce, before she remarried, his mother had bought a place in Kyoto. It wasn't Osaka, but they had managed to get together quite often.

Drying his hands, he stepped into the hall and saw Richard leaning against the hall, one foot resting on the wall and a folder clasped in his hand. He was looking around, and Rowen had to smile at the confused look on his face. It brought back memories of when they had been younger, and Richard had followed Rowen everywhere, trying to take in everything his older brother was showing and explaining to him. _That was a long time ago…_ He walked over and put his hand on Richard's shoulder. "Hey."

"Oh, there you are." Richard tossed his hair back and looked Rowen up and down, as if he was trying to memorize how he looked. "You got tall."

"So did you. You're about as big as me."

"As lanky, too. Must be in the genes." His free hand rubbed his arm. "So, what do you want to do?"

"Come on." Rowen put an arm around his brother and led him down the hall. "Let's catch up a bit, then I can give you the tour later."

"Alright, lead the way."

"I figured that's what I was doing."

"It's a figure of speech."

Rowen grinned and ruffled Richard's hair. "Yeah, I know. I spent some time in America."

"Really?" Richard gave him a questioning look, then his face fell. "Oh, the armor murders in New York."

Rowen winced and his arm dropped. "Yeah, that. It had us flying from coast to coast."

"Was it…did one of your friends go insane?"

"Not quite. I…it's complicated."

"So complicated I wouldn't get it?"

"It's just…not something we like to talk about." He took in the look Richard was giving to him, and relented. "Basically, a friend was tortured and they used his armor to try and gain power to take over the world."

"And you stopped him."

"Yes, thankfully."

"Ah." Richard looked up an squinted at the clouds as they stepped outside. "I figure you want to avoid talking about the whole Africa thing."

"Yeah. Hey, how'd you know it was Africa?"

"Mom. She investigated that thing to death. I think she was worried about you."

"Were you?"

"Of course! Though I was a little upset you hadn't told me about the armor." 

Rowen sighed. "You have to understand, I wanted to tell you, but I couldn't. Just like none of the other guys could tell their families. There was a chance that if you knew, the Dynasty-"

"Dynasty?"

Rowen bit his lip. "The bad guys. We just didn't want to drag you into it." He walked a bit more quickly a claimed a shady spot under a cherry blossom tree. 

Richard looked around, then shrugged and took a seat next to him, fingering the folder and staring at it as if it was the most fascinating thing on Earth. "I…understand. I don't like it, but I understand."

"Since we're on the topic of secrets, what about yours? You doing okay?"

"Uh huh. So, what have I missed since I went to America?"

Rowen crossed his arms, ignoring the diversion tactic. "Richard…"

The younger teen sighed. "I don't want to talk about it, bro."

"Well I do. It's important, and it really hurt you early on. I just want to make sure you've got it under control."

"I do. Martial arts helped me focus my mind and now I don't keel over, or get migraines, or any of the other side effects. I just…" Richard ran his fingers over the Kyoto University seal. "It's something I can pretty much ignore now."

"It's not necessarily a curse, Richard."

Richard narrowed his eyes. "Wanna bet."

"Yes, I do. I have a friend that has it, and he's embraced it as a gift. He's even learning to master it."

"Well la de da for him. I'm not him, and I don't want to embrace it more than I have to. Now can we change topics?"

Rowen let out a slow breath through his nose. He'd never heard his brother use such a sharp tone, and he'd never imagine it'd be used against him. _Guess it's still a sore subject._ Unlike Rowen, Richard had been born with some sort of empathic ability. At first it didn't really bother the kid, only sensing Rowen and no one else. But as he got older, his ability evolved and matured with him, and those were memories Rowen had tried to forget. Uncontrollable urges to vomit, blacking out in the middle of school. The worst was during the fights between his parents. 

That was the only time he'd seen Richard actually stop living. He'd just turned white, collapsed, and he hadn't been breathing, or had a heartbeat. He had called his parents in such a terrified voice that they came immediately, and got Richard to the hospital. He had started breathing again on his own shortly after the fighting had stopped, but it had really scared Rowen, and during the divorce he hid Richard from their emotions as much as possible. Distracting him, taking him out to see a movie when things started heating up, anything he could think of.

And when the divorce was final, he had been worried that, without him, Richard wouldn't be okay. That turned out to be wrong. Richard had missed his brother, but had adapted to his absence, learning to shut out some of the more intense emotions, training his body to not react so violently to things he couldn't block, getting out of the way when emotions got too intense. Their mother never made the connection that every time she and her boyfriend (her current husband) got overly romantic, Richard always found some reason to leave the house.

_Well, at least he's got it completely under control now. I wonder how long it took._ "Alright. Sorry. I was just worried."

Richard's shoulders sagged. "Yeah, I know. I just…it's a sensitive topic."

"Well, what about telling me about the last couple years in America. I haven't gotten so much as a letter from you for a while."

Richard smiled softly. "Well, for my last birthday my step-dad took me to Disneyland. And I told you I skipped a grade, right?"

"I figured that out. You're here, after all."

"Right. Um, well, the cat died. Met with a bird he couldn't digest. And California has great weather. It'll be hard to adjust back to this."

"What about on the relationship map? Anything more than friends?" 

"Not really. A couple dates, but nothing from either ocean."

Rowen shrugged. He knew Richard liked both men and women. He wrote it off as spending too much time in the United States, but he could've been born that way, or it had to do with his power. Either way, he was still his brother, and Rowen never shunned him for his choice. His father, on the other hand…_ Best not to go there._ "Ditto. Guess we didn't inherit mom's attractive qualities." 

"Oh, no, we did. One month I put bleach streaks in my hair, and I had to unplug the phone."

"Really?"

"Just wasn't worth the trouble, to be honest. I'd rather have a few people ask me out then every person who finds my hair attractive."

"Good point. What about sports?"

"Didn't win any awards while I was with track. You may run like the wind but I certainly don't."

Rowen chuckled. "With a little training I'm sure you could give me a run for the money." He heard Rich snort. "No pun intended."

"Yeah, sure. What about you? Can you tell me about this Dynasty war? Or are you bound by some deep dark eternal secret that forbids you from revealing what it's all about?"

Rowen shifted uncomfortably. The Dynasty war was not something he, or any of his friends, cared to rehash. To anyone, including each other. "It's something we don't talk about. It's best you don't know, really." _Or learn about how close you came to becoming enslaved to a darkness beyond your nightmares._

"Well, what about the armor, can you talk about that? Was it really destroyed?"

"Yes, it was. Not a very pleasant experience."

Richard sat back at Rowen's slightly bitter tone. "Sorry. I guess I'm letting curiosity get the better of me. I…won't bring it up again."

"I won't bring up yours if you won't bring up mine."

"Deal."

They sat there quietly for a minute, neither Hashiba quite sure where to go from there. _We don't see each other for years, and already we've had a fight. Guess some things between brothers never change. _

"How many units are you taking?"

"Twenty. What'd you end up with?"

"I couldn't get more than fifteen. They won't let me."

"That's to help you adjust to the college way of life. What're you taking?"

"Well-"

"ROWEN!"

Rowen jumped to his feet, getting into a defensive position and scanning the area for any dangers. Sure, he recognized Kento's voice, but the tone was similar to the one he used when Dynasty soldiers were attacking. "Kento?"

Richard got up more slowly, getting into his own fighting stance.

_Wonder how good he is._ Kento finally made it over to the brothers, and he rested his arms on Rowen's shoulders for a minute while he caught his breath. "Kento, what's up?"

"Do you…know how…big this…campus is? I've been…everywhere…looking for you." Kento finally stood up and he cuffed Rowen on the head. "You turned off your cell phone you doof!"

"Oh, that's right." Rowen dug through his pockets, but Kento grabbed his arm before he could pull it out. 

"Rowen, we've got to go. A certain friend dropped by, and he needs to see you." Kento finally looked over Rowen's shoulder, and did a small double take. "Whoa…"

"Kento, I'm a bit busy, as you can see."

"Sorry, man. I've got orders from a real FIRE-cracker."

Rowen frowned, then his eyes widened. _Shit! Ryo's here! And if Kento spent all day looking for me…_ He had a bad feeling about this. "Um, Richard? I've got to leave. I'll catch you around, okay?"  
Richard looked from his brother to Kento. "Is everything okay?"

"Nothing to worry about, kid."

Rowen felt Richard bristle behind him. _Deal with that later._ "Richard, really, if I could stay, I would. I'll call you, I promise."

Richard stood his ground a moment longer, then picked up his folder. "Alright. Let me give you my number-"

"I'll get it next time I see you on campus. I'm sorry, Richard, but I think this is a bit of an emergency."

"Oh…okay." Richard looked up into the tree, then shuffled his feet. "Bye."

"I'll get back to you, I promise." Rowen grabbed Kento's arm, and dragged the larger boy off with him. "This better be important, Kento."

"Richard?"

"I'm asking the questions. What the hell is going on that has you racing around under Ryo's orders?"

Kento pulled his arm free and kept up with Rowen's pace. "Cye tried to contact you earlier. He had a vision."

Rowen groaned. "Oh God."

"Demon, actually. Some new Warlord of ice."

"Is he sure it isn't just a nightmare?"

"Well, it could be, but considering Anubis just appeared bloodied and poisoned by Sehkmet, I'd doubt it."

Rowen stopped walking and stared at Kento. "Anubis?!"

"Yeah. He's not in good shape."

"Shit. Shit, shit, shit! This is not good!" Rowen looked back towards the tree. _And this time Richard's nearby. And he won't stay out of it._ There was no way his brother would just accept him disappearing for a time. He'd connect the dots and hunt him down. _Okay, worry about it later. _"What's Ryo need me for?"

"He wants you to go find Sage. He's the only person that can save Anubis."

"Right. Where is he?"

"Probably on his way to Toyama from Sendai."

"Gotcha." Rowen glanced around, then ducked between two buildings. He took a deep breath and willed his sub-armor to appear. A second later Kento stepped in behind him, resting a hand on the meshed sub-armor. "I'll get him here as fast as I can."

"We'll be at my place."

"Okay." Without opening his eyes, he called upon a small breeze. The wind surrounded him, and in a dim flash of navy light, he merged with it, becoming the wind. It always gave him a feeling of freedom, to become nothing but free floating molecules loosely held together by his mystic will. _Sendai to Toyama. There's a train that travels that way._ Sage was fairly adverse to driving, because it harmed the environment if he wasn't carpooling. _That's my best bet._ Lifting himself into the air, he saw Kento stand there for a few minutes, before heading for the parking lot.

It had taken him a while to get used to the idea of moving in an aerial three-dimensional way. The first Strata had helped him adjust to flying, but this new armor allowed him not only to fly, but to teleport through wind. It was far faster, and unlike anything he'd experienced before. In testing the ability, he found he could reach, what he estimated, was close to mach five. 

Before going to Sendai, he moved across campus and found his brother walking towards the dorms. His head was bowed, but Rowen could tell he was thinking about something. _I'm sorry. I'll come back as soon as I can, I promise._ He blew around Richard, ruffling his hair, before flying into the air. He didn't even see how the teen had looked up with a puzzled expression, mouthing his name.

~*()*~

~*()*~

~*()*~

Author's Prattle: Well, after many years of promising, planning, and delays, I have finally gotten around to rewriting my first fic ever (well, first published one; I have no idea where my first fic disappeared to). This is the rewrite to "Life and Soul Reunited," which, while a good idea and highly original (especially at the time), I executed poorly. What can I say, it was my first real sojourn into writing fan fiction. It's still up, though I wouldn't recommend it. It's pretty crappy. Any who, this rewrite is a complete overhaul of the original. Yes, there are aspects and plot points that will be similar (Richard, a certain violent scene later on), but otherwise this is practically a new fic. 

If you're lost on who some of these people are, or what's up with the armors, it's alright. I'm pulling from the Drama CDs and the OAVs as well as art books. So yes, this story does contain spoilers to some of the CDs, as well as all three OAVs (as if you couldn't tell considering what's happened in this chapter alone). And for those purists out there, who believe in full sub/raw or bust, I'm afraid Ronin Warriors is the only one I take exception to that rule. It holds a special place in my writing history, and really, it wouldn't work with the original kanjis (though I had a nice name all picked out for Richard…ah well).

Disclaimers. I don't own Ronin Warriors/Yoroiden Samurai Troopers. They belong to Sunrise, Nagoya TV, and Sony Music Entertainment. The art books and CDs belong to their respective artists. Richard I do own, as well as this plot, but that's it. 

Final notes. I don't know when I'll get the next chapter out, or how long this fic will go on. Unlike some of my others (Cipher's Wake, God's in 7th Heaven, No Need for Daniel!), I haven't planned it out extensively or in detail. Also, my beta (Mardrena, check out her series) is harder to reach nowadays, as she finally has a job; and I still have school of course (midterms next week…oi). So, as always, reviews are welcome, and more importantly, enjoy!


	2. Chapter 2

Life and Soul

__

By Cypher

****

Chapter Two

_When you're going this fast, the transition doesn't seem so bad._ Sage rested his head against the back of his seat, his eyes slightly unfocused. The train from Sendai went right by a forest which, even at high speeds, was heartwarming to him. After a few miles the forest melted into suburbs, and they were fast coming up on a city. Normally seeing the scenery change disturbed him, but on a train the scenes meshed together almost like a living painting. It was nice enough to almost take his mind off his troubles. Almost.

After Ryo's frantic call, he had gotten onto the train and found a relatively quiet car. He had mediated in crowds before, but it was more difficult then when he was at home. Once he was seated by the window, he calmed his breathing and entered into a trance, drowning out the sounds around him with his own heartbeat. Once his mind was clear, he astral projected his spirit to the Dynasty.

The other Ronins thought when he meditated answers came to him. They didn't understand that he actually had to separate his spirit from his body to really search for answers. His favorite way to meditate was in the forest, as when he was in spirit form, he could see the life of each plant, each animal. Nature in its purest form was the closest way he could describe it. Even the dead had some sort of life to it, and whenever he could leave the dojo to meditate, he would go to the forest.

Learning to enter the Nether World with his spirit was an accident, and he suspected a residual effect from staying there so long during the second half of the war. His psyche had formed a subtle bond with the land, drawing on any form of nature to help sustain him. As a result, when he returned to Earth, he could sometimes send his spirit there. Only Kayura and Cale could sense when he did that, and he sometimes spoke to them. 

He couldn't enter the world through teleportation like Ryo could. He didn't have that power. The fact that Ryo couldn't get into the Nether World worried him, but he hoped that whoever set up the block only prevented things entering on the physical plane. He was partially right. He immediately recognized the Nether World vegetation, but he was in an unknown part of the world. He'd never been here before. Off in the distance he could see the castle, and its vision disturbed him.

The building retained the pagoda-like shape he was accustomed to, but now it was completely covered in some sort of crystal. _Ice, perhaps?_ It would make sense, if Cye's vision gave any hints to what this Warlord's power was based on. Looking up, he found that the stars were quickly vanishing, becoming blocked by heavy gray clouds that were spiraling out from the castle. _So he's making a Nether World ice age._ He heard a cracking sound, and quickly looked around him.

A shadow was prowling across the land, transforming everything in its wake into ice. "_Kayura! Can you hear me?" _He didn't want to call Cale, not yet. If his grandfather was right, he'd be corrupted by the new Dynasty master. He took a step back as the shadow seemed to pause a minute. Then it turned and rushed at him. He flung his hands up automatically, to ward off a blow. A yell of pain was torn from his spiritual throat as the shadow swallowed him. He tried to will himself back to his body, and couldn't. 

__

If I can't get back… His body could only live so long without his spirit, and if it were kept here, he would die. He was tempted to call his armor, but then his kanji would light up on his body, and it would result in a panic on the train. _I think I'll have to take the chance._ He raised his hands into the air, focusing his thoughts through the pain. _Its power should get me out of here._

Then, without any warning, the shadow was hit with a bright light, one that blinded Sage for a second. When he could see again, he found himself floating above the world, his world. Above a city, actually. _Not Sendai…or Toyama. No Tokyo Tower--hey, that's Rowen's college. Kyoto?_ He squinted at the college. There was a glow coming from there, a black glow. Well versed in various auras, Sage knew that a black aura was almost always associated with something dark, evil. But with this aura, there was something off, something not quite normal about it. _A lesser evil that doesn't want me to die?_ It was possible, but he couldn't figure out why it was at Rowen's school.

Feeling a tug from his body, Sage abandoned the astral search he was about to start and retreated to his body, opening his eyes to see that the city merging into another suburb. One more city and he'd be in Toyama. He sighed and rested his chin on his hand. _What was that? _Whatever it was, it had been powerful to free him from the hold of Dynasty energies. _At least as powerful as the armor, then._ _But why save me? If it's evil, why would it waste its energy?_ His fingers began tapping on his chin. _Maybe it knows the Ronins are the only ones who can fight off this new Dynasty._ He made a mental note to go to Kyoto as soon as possible, to try and hunt down this being.

A hand landed on his arm and a small spark of energy traveled through the person's fingers into him. He tensed, until he realized he recognized the energy, and turned his head, raising his eyebrows at his friend. "Rowen?"

"Hey, Sage." Rowen glanced around, and nodded his head towards the bathroom. "Come on."

Sage frowned, but stood and followed the blue-haired Ronin into the restroom. Sadly, it was barely large enough for one person, and Sage felt like a sardine with the two of them in there. He was worried one of them would end up with their foot in the toilet. "What's going on?"

"You'll see." Rowen's sub-armor flashed into existence. Without preamble, Rowen put his arm around Sage's, and the next thing Sage knew, he had all the room in the world. He quickly stretched out, but was stopped from going too far by some invisible force. _Rowen. So this is what he means about the teleportation._ It was strange to be air, but not really uncomfortable. 

Rowen led him out of the bathroom, then through a car door, until they finally left the train and were floating in the air, the train rushing beneath them. Something that felt like a warning brushed by his conscious, and then he was moving too fast to make out anything. If he were solid he was sure his organs would've been crushed and his skin peeled away by wind shear alone. _How fast ARE we going?_ He definitely had to ask Rowen, especially since they just passed a jet. 

Then, as quickly as they had started, they stopped. He recognized they were in Kyoto, and if he'd had eyebrows, he'd have raised them. Instead of going to the college, though, Rowen brought them into the streets and skimmed over the heads of pedestrians. _They must think this is weird, since there isn't a breeze today._ They finally arrived at a place Sage recognized: Kento's apartment. They slid through the window and landed, for lack of a better term. He felt the freedom of being air dissipate, and he collapsed onto the floor, catching his breath.

"What kept you?" Sage glanced over to see Ryo kneeling by a bed, though he couldn't see who was on it at the moment. 

"Sorry. Kento had to find me, and it's hard to get into a moving train." Rowen's foot stepped by his head, and the sub-armor vanished as his younger friend crouched down. "Are you okay? The first time can be a little rough."

"A little? How fast were we going?"

"Just under mach one. I would've gone faster, but I'd never reached that speed with a passenger before."

Sage heard a strangled whimper from Ryo as he pushed himself up onto his knees. "So what's so important?"

Ryo came over and helped Sage to his feet and nodded to the bed. "Him."

Sage shook his head at the brief dizzy spell that overcame him. _Okay, never doing that again. _He wondered how Rowen dealt with it, but then, he had spent a lot more time flying than any other of the Ronins. His violet eyes widened when he finally caught sight of the figure on the bed. "Anubis?" He quickly abandoned Ryo's grip and stood over the fallen man. "Is he…?"

"Barely. That's why we sent Rowen to get you."

Sage nodded and hovered his hands over Anubis' form. It was turning pale, but some of the veins were a sickly green color. "Sehkmet's venom is in him."

"Yeah, Yulie spotted that pretty quickly."

"Yulie? When'd he get here?"

"He came with me. Right now he's in the shower, and Kento's searching for some clothes for him. He was the one that took care of Anubis' wounds, but got pretty dirty, so he's cleaning up."

"He didn't touch the infected wound, did he?" Sage summoned his sub-armor. He would drain himself if he tried to heal all these wounds without the armor. Plus, only the armor's energies could purify the toxins Sehkmet had left. Unfortunately, said Warlord was known to leave wounds seeping with venom, so anyone who tried to help the victim would suffer the same fate. 

"He injected it with something, but no, he didn't touch it. Neither did the nurse that Kento had Yulie bring in." Sage felt Ryo move next to him, sensing the worry emanating from him. "Can you save him?"

_Have to watch myself around them, make sure I don't pick up anything I shouldn't._ He finally put his hands over Anubis' chest, and a green hue illuminated that part of his body. "I'll try. How long has he been like this?"

"At least four hours, maybe five."

Sage winced as a hit a vein of poison mere seconds from striking Anubis' heart. "Well, I know I can heal him, but his body's been through a long strain. My healing him won't guarantee he'll wake up any time soon."

"He will. If not immediately, then soon. He's a warrior, and a guide. He came here for a reason."

"Or maybe he was exiled."

"I doubt it, Rowen. Why would they hurt him-"

"Guys, as interesting as this conversation is, I'm getting distracted." It wasn't a lie, either. Ryo's loyalty was about to conflict greatly with Rowen's doubts, and if he was going to heal Anubis, really heal him, he'd need to put all his focus into it. "Could you leave?"

"Right, sorry, Sage."

"I'll run home and grab some books for the trip to the Koji house." 

Sage felt a brief breeze, and knew Rowen had teleported again. Ryo simply walked out, and Sage turned all his attention to healing. _I hope you can tell us something about this new enemy, Anubis. Without Kayura, you're our Ancient, our guide. _And it might've been his mind playing tricks on him, but for an instant, he could've sworn he felt something spark in Anubis' mind.

~*()*~

Richard stared after the retreating breeze, wondering what was going on. He could've sworn he'd just felt, well, it felt like Rowen had lovingly ruffled his hair. He turned on his heels and ran back to where he'd seen his brother drag that man--_Kento_--off. He wasn't as fast as his brother, but with someone that large, it was doubtful they got far. 

He skidded to a halt as he reached the edge of the parking lot. _I didn't see them, anywhere._ That couldn't have been right. _They couldn't have just vanished._ That's when he spotted Kento, and he opened his mouth to call his name. He paused though, as he realized he had no idea how to explain what he had felt. _He'd probably think I was crazy. I felt a breeze that emotionally felt like my brother?_ _Yeah, that'd go down well._

Watching the car with Kento pull out of the parking lot, he sighed out his nose and started the journey back to his dorm. His mother had offered to let him stay at her place in Kyoto, but technically, he wasn't eighteen, and the school was liable, as was the condominium complex, if anything should happen to him. _Granted, I'm used to not having parents around._ But he understood their concerns. When he was eighteen he'd consider moving out of the dorm, though his mom's place was on the other side of town. 

_Maybe Rowen would want a roommate. _He considered that for a moment, then shook the thought aside. Rowen had his own life, and while he may want to be near him, to spend more time with him to make up for what they'd lost because of the divorce, he had no right to infringe on it. If he was going to leave the campus when he was old enough, it'd have to be a place of his own. _Unless he asks me to move in with him._

He glanced into the sky once more, then entered his dorm building and started up the stairs. _Enough day dreaming. You've got a lot of information to go over, plus you need to make a list of all the books you'll need for class._ Reaching his floor, he went over to his door and entered the central room. His room was part of a three bedroom set, connected by a nicely sized 'common room,' as the college advertised it. The plan was to have at least one older, more experienced college student in one of the rooms, and the third room would be occupied by whoever needed it. 

At the moment, though, he had the entire place to himself. He had chosen the room that was on the corner of the building, giving him a nice view of the campus, but high enough that he had privacy. He tossed his folder onto the desk and sat on his bed, folding his hands together and resting his chin on them. Something was up, that much was obvious. But what did his brother have to do with it, that was the big question. _Wait, Kento…_ He bit his lip. _Wasn't that one of the guys from Africa? He wore an armor too, didn't he?_ He frowned, trying to remember if that name had come up anywhere else. _No wait, I'm getting things mixed up. Kento was Rowen's friend as a kid._ So they now both lived in Kyoto, instead of Osaka. _Maybe they attend college together, and it's some project they have to finish._

He shrugged. There was no way to tell what was going on until Rowen returned from…wherever he'd gone. _How'll he find me?_ Of course, his number was listed in the directory, so Rowen could just call the dorm office and get in contact that way. _I thought he was at Tokyo U, though._ That was something he had forgotten to ask about. It had been a big deal when Rowen got accepted there, and now he was here. _And it wasn't because of me. He was as surprised as I was to see him._ Yet another mystery he'd ask Rowen to solve.

Getting up, he straddled his desk chair and pulled out a pencil and opened one of his notebooks. _Alright, books. I need to get these sorted out and buy them by next week. Come Winter Break everything'll be closed._ He began writing, but a minute later he felt a pounding in his head, and his hand automatically raised to rub his forehead. _What the…_

It couldn't have been a sinus headache, it was a clear day. It wasn't lack of sleep, either, as he'd been getting plenty of rest. _That just leaves…non-medical reasons._ He growled softly. His empathy was acting up, probably reacting to something, and it was trying to get his attention. He tried to ignore it, but the pounding got more intense. He squeezed the head, trying to push the pain away, it didn't help. 

"Alright! God damn! What?! What the hell do you want me to see?!" The pounding in his head went away, but with it came a vast darkness, and he wondered if he'd passed out. _Only…I never passed out when I was still awake, not like this._ He turned around. _"Hello?"_ He hesitated, then took a step forward.

As his foot landed, the blackness before him swarmed around, and he found himself looking at a man, slightly older than him, wrestling with some other darkness. He didn't know how he could distinguish the two, he only knew that the darkness that was smothering the man before him was different than the darkness he was standing in. _And it's killing him._

He couldn't see much of the man, other than a pale hand and a bit of blond hair, but he could see a green outline of the man, an aura, if what his Wiccan friends had told him was true. _"Hey! Can you hear me?"_ The man gave no response, but his back was arched as if he was in pain. _Okay, he can't hear me, but I have to help him somehow! _He looked around, trying to find a weapon, a tool, anything that he could use to try and free the man from his prison. _Nadda. Okay, plan B._ He moved forward and grasped the man's hand, pulling on it. _"Let go of him go you suffocating cloud of…of…oh just go away!"_

Richard felt something in him grow then, and his forehead felt warm. A ball of light formed around his hand, the one he was holding, and exploded, hurtling him back into his own world of darkness. He didn't let go, though, and he felt the other man come with him. Then, in the blink of an eye, he was back in his room, slumped over the back of his chair. _What…what just happened?_ He looked at his hand, surprised to realize he could actually feel where the other man's fingers had gripped him. 

He sat up and looked around, trying to see if there was anyone in the room with him. _Nothing. I'm alone._ Then he felt someone looking at him, searching for him, and his head snapped towards the window. It was coming from the sky, but he couldn't see anything, or anyone. The feeling vanished, and once again his world seemed back to normal.

He got up from the chair and moved back to the bed, pulling a pillow out and hugging it. His world wasn't normal, though. What had just happened wasn't normal, and it terrified him. He'd never experienced anything like that, and for a moment he found himself wishing for the blackouts and nausea, things he could handle. He didn't want…whatever had just happened. He didn't want his powers to evolve, to experience that again. But he knew something was changing, something inside of him, and he hugged the pillow even tighter. _What's happening to me?_

~*()*~

"What about the Snow Maiden?"

Cye shook his head. "Whoever I saw was definitely a guy."

"But it fits. He lived in a mountain, awakened by winter, and controls the snow."

"First off, it was a hill. Second, a Nether spirit awakened him. And third, he controls ice, not snow. Cale controls snow."

Mia rubbed her temples and turned away from the computer. "Cye, we've been through every snow legend to look for a literal demon. What if it's metaphorical? What if, I don't know, the writer wrote that it was a mountain because that's more dramatic? Or wrote that it's a snow woman because that made for a better story?"

"It's not!" Cye slammed the book he was looking through closed. "This is a Dynasty minion! He's evil, he's vile, and he's got to be here somewhere! It was the one damn thing your grandfather was good at so he's got to be in here somewhere!"

Mia stared at Cye, then shoved her chair back and left the room. 

Cye sighed and hung his head, using the heels of his hands to massage his eyes. _God, that was a low blow._ He didn't really believe that about her grandfather. In fact, he had never met the man, but he had heard the stories from Ryo, Mia, even Yulie. He had no right to say something so harsh. _Why did I? _

He knew why. He was worried, really worried, about this new evil. First the vision, then Ryo had been unable to contact Kayura, and now there was no reference whatsoever to this guy. He was also fairly tired, but that was expected. Between the emotional upheaval and the lack of sleep, he was getting upset, and frustrated. 

_I should apologize. _He got up from his own seat and left of the library, trying to decide which way his wife had gone. He stepped into the hall and walked towards the kitchen, listening for any sounds that indicated his wife was there. _I hope I didn't make her cry._ He would feel awful about that, especially since he hadn't meant to lash out.

He found her in the kitchen, but she wasn't crying, simply standing there, waiting for the tea kettle to whistle. She was leaning against the counter, staring at the floor, and Cye saw a cross between worry and angry lines marring her forehead. He took a few steps towards her and stopped by the fridge, waiting to see if she gave any indication that she didn't want to hear from him. She didn't say anything, though, so he closed the distance, and carefully put his arms around her waist. She didn't uncross her arms, but she didn't pull away, either. 

_It's a start. _"I'm sorry. I just…I didn't mean what I said. It's just…I'm afraid, and you know how much I hate to fight, especially with what we've been trying to do." He hadn't told any of the other guys yet, but after the Suzunagi incident, he and Mia had agreed they should try to have a baby. They hoped the wars were finally over, and with Mia's steady income and his free time, it seemed like a good time. Another war meant putting off their plans. They couldn't risk bringing a child into a war torn world, or a world of darkness. And he couldn't in good conscious leave to fight this new evil while his wife was with child. "I just…I took out my emotions on you when I had no right to. I'm sorry."

"I won't say I'm not hurt, Cye, but I understand." She leaned against him. "I felt that way a lot during the first war, and it was hard to keep it under control."

"Me too, which just means I should've been able to control myself better."

"Yes." She turned around and rested a hand on his cheek. "But then, out of the blue, you have this vision so terrible you wake up with no control. In one night your world of stability is gone, and you're back to fighting." She tilted her head, meeting his eyes. "We both know how you feel about that. You had just come to accept that maybe there would be no more battles, and now you've been thrust into yet another one." She pulled away as the kettle began whistling and grabbed a hot pad. "I think you, I, we all have a right to lose our control, a little."

"Still, what I said-"

"You didn't mean it, Cye. Forget about it." She poured the steaming water into two mugs and grabbed two tea bags from a nearby cupboard. 

Cye watched her work, crossing his arms across his chest in a bit of a self-hug. "You're too good to me."

"I figure there's going to be some hard days ahead, and there's going to be a lot we, not just you and I, but the other Ronins as well, will say that we'll regret. It's pressure, it's fear, it's a lot of stuff. We dealt with it in the first two wars, and in every other challenge since then. We'll be fine." She pushed one mug towards him and lifted her own.

Cye accepted his, but merely re-dipped his tea bag. "You sure you didn't get Sage's kanji of wisdom?"

Mia chuckled and shook her head. "I doubt it. I'm just more used to the waiting and researching part of the fights. This is a first for you."

"Huh. Guess you're right." He finally picked up his tea and sipped it, though he didn't really taste it. _As soon as I can I'm getting her a bouquet of flowers. Lilies of the Valley._ They were her favorite type of flower. She preferred roses only on romantic occasions, not for little gestures of love, or apologies. 

"You know, darling…"

"Hmm?"

"We haven't checked the book Kayura gave us."

Cye froze, his mouth hanging open. "I…never even thought…" The book she was referring to was a gift from Anubis, once he had finally recovered from the near death experience of giving both his armor and the Ancient's power to Kayura. It was a unique tome that contained every legend of the Nether World, but with one word the legends that were based in truth would vanish, and the actual history that the legend stemmed from would appear. They hadn't asked how it worked, because it was obviously a spell. "Where is it?"

"I placed it in the antique room, with the other relics grandfather left me." She quickly put her mug down and hurried out of the room, Cye on her heels. 

_Why didn't we think of this earlier?_ No Earth-based legend held the story of an ice demon, but that didn't mean there wasn't one in the Nether World legends. _It'll take longer to look through one book, but I have a feeling we'll find something. _The problem was, he was fairly sure they wouldn't like what they found.

~*()*~

Ryo looked up from his game of checkers with Yulie as Sage walked out of the bedroom, swaying ever so slightly. "How is he?"

"Healed, but asleep. I tried nudging his mind, but…" Sage shook his head and stumbled over to the couch, collapsing on it and throwing an arm over his eyes. "He's entered a healing sleep, a deep one. He's not waking up anytime soon."

"Hi, Sage."

Sage waggled his fingers in Yulie's general direction.

Kento took a seat on the other end of the couch. "Man, you look wasted. Are you okay?"

"The damage internally was worse than I thought. You can thank Sehkmet's poison for that. It was degrading his organs." He let out a quick yawn. "It took a lot more energy than I had anticipated. I'll be fine once I get a few hours sleep."

Rowen finally walked into the room and dropped a bag by the door. "So that just leaves who's going with who."  
Ryo glanced at the bag, then to Rowen. "You travel light."

"I can come back if I forgot anything." He shifted his weight a bit nervously. "I figured we would drive. I don't think I can teleport all of you, not without you wearing your armors."

"Anubis shouldn't," Sage let out another yawn, "shouldn't go through that anyways. Not right now."

"You're welcome to stay the night, guys. My place isn't really set up for a lot of company, but a few sleeping bags and you should be set."

Yulie jumped two of Ryo's pieces as the Ronin of Wildfire stood up. "No, we get moving tonight. Sage, you and Rowen take the jeep with Anubis. Yulie and I will ride with Kento. We have to get to Mia's. Who knows when this new guy will attack, and if the Warlords have been turned evil already, we probably don't have much time." He looked to Kento. "Can you get Anubis into my car?"

"No sweat." Kento stood and went to his bedroom.

Ryo pulled his keys out of his pocket and tossed them to Rowen, who brought his hand up reflexively and caught them. "Get there as fast as you can. The more Ronins we have around Anubis, the more we can protect him."

"Right."

"I am not getting into a car driven by Rowen."

Rowen snorted and picked up his bag. "Yeah, you're in a condition to drive."

Sage defiantly crossed his arms. "No. You drive like a maniac."

"That was almost a year ago. Would you drop it?"

"Guys! Get going! Rowen, don't give Sage a heart attack. Sage, don't be a backseat driver and get some sleep. Clear?" Ryo looked between the two friends, not getting any vocal agreement, but both teens nodded. "Good. Get going."

Rowen walked over and grabbed Sage by his arm, helping to get him to his feet. "Come on, sleepy. I'll even keep the radio off so you won't complain about it invading your dreams."

Sage grumbled. "If you make me sick again…"

"This is the thanks I get for stopping by your house to pick up some clothes for you? You know you brought nothing with you on the train."

Ryo raised an eyebrow as Sage's ears turned red. "I just had to get out quickly."

"Yeah, yeah." Rowen stepped aside as Kento, carrying Anubis, cut in front of them and headed downstairs. "And for your information, I haven't driven like a maniac since I entered college."

"Yeah. Other than when he moved to Kyoto, he hasn't driven at all."

Sage shot Ryo a desperate look before Rowen tugged the blond out of sight. 

"It's nice to see those two are still friends."

Ryo chuckled and patted Yulie's shoulder. "Yeah, it is." He tugged on the oversized sweat shirt the boy was wearing. "Kento couldn't find anything close to your size?"

"Nope. Mom and dad are sending some clothes to Mia's, though."

Ryo took his seat again, glancing at the board, but not really wanting to continue the game. "Your parents agreed to let you go, knowing the danger?" Yulie squirmed a bit, and Ryo narrowed his eyes. "Yulie, what did you tell them?"

"I told them it was a reunion of all of us."

"Yulie!"

"I don't want them to worry! They think it's just a little get together. If an attack happens, it's coincidence." Yulie hunched his shoulders and averted his eyes from Ryo's gaze.

Ryo grabbed the boy by the scruff of his neck. "You are in so much trouble, kid." He led the boy downstairs. "On the way to Mia's you are calling them and telling them the truth."

A whiny tone wormed its way into Yulie's voice. "But then they won't want me to go."

"And if they want you to come home, you'll tell them once we reach the Koji resident that Rowen will bring you home." Ryo shook his head. "Yulie, this is a serious matter."

"And I have every right to be a part of this war as you do."

"And I won't have you on the front line where you could get hurt. How many close calls did you have during the first Dynasty war? During our ordeal in Africa?"

Yulie shrugged. "I dunno. Some?"

"More than some, Yulie." He squatted down and put his hands on Yulie's shoulders, looking the boy in his eyes. "Yulie, with the amount of injuries Anubis got, he was probably attacked by one, or maybe all three Warlords. If they could attack their friend, imagine what they could do to you."

Yulie winced at Ryo's words and hung his head. "I know. I know the risks, Ryo. I've been through this before. And I'm ready to be a part of it again."

"But I'm not. If something happens to you-"

"Then something happens to me and there's not much you or anyone can do about it. I can handle it, Ryo. I'm not a kid anymore."

Ryo took a deep breath through his nose, then pulled Yulie forward into a hug. "No, you're not. But you're still a friend, and someone we all care deeply about." 

"I know…"

"And you're still too young to make this decision on your own. Your parents would worry, and they worried enough during the first war."

Yulie nodded, recalling how his mother had started weeping at seeing him. Since he hadn't been captured, they had thought he had been killed in the initial invasion. His father hadn't been in a much better condition, though he had simply cried silently. "Alright. But I'm going to tell them I want to stay."

"It's their decision, though, and whatever they decide, you agree to, without a fuss. Agreed?"

Yulie finally pulled away from Ryo's hug and glanced down the stairs, where Kento was watching them from the front door. 

"Agreed?"

"Agreed, Ryo. But I'm not happy about it."

Ryo ruffled Yulie's hair and continued down the stairs, seeing that his jeep was already gone. "It's not about your happiness, Yulie."

"I know."

"Hey you two, what's with the serious faces?"

Ryo walked out and headed for Kento's car. "Just talking about what Yulie should tell his parents when he phones them."

"You mean you didn't already, squirt?" Kento waved his finger at Yulie before locking his shop and heading for the driver's seat. "I have a cell phone in the car."

"I have one, too. I'll use it to call them."

"Cool." Kento unlocked the doors and climbed in.

Ryo ran a hand through his hair, looking into the sky, before climbing in as well. _Already taking on the role of leader. Some habits die hard. _Kento started the car and Ryo turned to watch Yulie as he dialed home. 

~*()*~

Cale flinched internally when their new master, Touryuki, sent Sehkmet hurtling into the wall. He, along with Dais, had been summoned to the throne room to witness Sehkmet's dressing down, because he had lost Anubis. _It's not his fault he slipped._ The fist over his heart tightened. He was loyal to Touryuki, but Dais and Sehkmet were still his friends. 

"Let this be a lesson. I don't tolerate failure." The Ice Warlord narrowed his eyes on the two standing Warlords. "This time, you get a warning. Next time, you will be executed." He turned and stormed up to his throne of ice, sitting down and closing his eyes, rubbing his forehead. 

Cale risked a quick glance over his shoulder, and saw Sehkmet pulling himself up from the rubble, struggling to regain his footing and mimic the respectful stances he and Dais were in. _His armor will heal any real damage._ He wasn't too worried. Sehkmet had a hard head.

"Alright. Status report, Cale?"

Cale snapped to attention and bowed slightly. "My lord, the clouds have nearly covered all of the Nether World. Your powers should encompass it entirely by nightfall."

"Any resistance?"

"A few small patches, but most of the spirits have submitted to your authority." He paused. "I sensed Halo's spirit earlier."

Touryuki paused in his rubbing and nodded at Cale to continue.

"I tried to extinguish him, but some…thing…freed him from my hold. Even with your power dampening the Ancient's Staff, it can still aid them."

He heard Touryuki grind his teeth. "It wasn't the Ancient that freed him." The new ruler sat back, growling softly. "I thought I had more time before it awakened."

Dais stepped forward. "Lord Touryuki?"

The ice warrior shifted his gaze to the Warlord of Illusion. "When the Nether Spirit freed me from my prison and infused its power into me, it awakened my counterpart."

Cale exchanged a confused look with the now standing Sehkmet. "Counterpart, sir?"

Touryuki stood up again and paced in front of his throne. "When Talpa created me, he didn't realize how powerful I'd be. That's why I was sealed away, I was a threat."

All three Warlords nodded. Cale knew the legend of the Ice Warlord the best, having the armor that controlled winter. It was said that Talpa created Touryuki to combat the threat of Inferno, an armor a mystic warned him of. Unfortunately, Talpa made him too powerful, and banished Touryuki to spend eternity in a prison of his power. Until now, Cale had thought it was just a legend. 

"The Ancient," Touryuki spit the word as an epithet, "learned of me, and created an armor to counter my power. It would have the same power as Inferno, but it would be built so it couldn't be canceled by my power." He stopped walking and crossed his arms. "Like my armor, it was designed to be built from its element."

Cale's brow furrowed, and he knew Dais was trying to figure out who it was as well. "An armor made of fire?"

Touryuki did growl this time. "I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"I just said that!" Cale ducked his head as Touryuki's icy gaze seared him. "Only the Ancient knew what it was, and he never recorded it." His eyes took on a purple glow momentarily. "The Nether Spirits say Talpa found a way to tap into its power, but never discovered the armor itself, or who its bearer was."

Cale saw Dais mouth 'Starlight,' and wondered if the strategist was right. It would explain how the armor was so powerful, even against all three of them. _If that was just tapping into the power, how strong would the full armor be?_

"Enough of this. You must rest as must I. In sleep the Nether Spirit energies will finish reinforcing your power, and allow me to regain what I've lost in taking over this realm."

"Shall we prepare the troops for battle? Revive the armors for them to inhabit?"

"Yes. Sehkmet, you shall handle that." Touryuki frowned, his eyes moving back and forth. "Cale, send a message to the outskirts of the Dynasty. I want every demon on Earth and in the Nether Realm brought forth."

Cale's eyes widened. "Demons?" Not even Talpa had resorted to using them more than a couple times. They could be unpredictable, and often had their own agendas.

Touryuki glared at Cale again. "Yes, demons. And tell them if they fail to appear, we shall dispense with them before we strike Earth."

Cale bowed once more. "Yes my lord." His confidence in this new master wavered slightly. _Demons, of all things._

"Dais. Dispose of Kayura and the Staff. It will greatly weaken the Ronins." He paused. "And search for the Armor of Cruelty. I have not been able to sense it, and it was not with the woman when I attacked. If Anubis managed to grab the armor before he left…" He gave Sehkmet a dirty look and the room got colder, which Cale didn't think was possible.

"Consider it done, my Lord."

Touryuki nodded, then walked behind the throne and vanished into a private chamber.

All three Warlords exited the throne room, ice crystals already extending from the ruined wall to cover the gap. Sehkmet was the first to break the silence when they turned the corner. "Demons! He's bringing demons!"

Dais, of course, pointed out the obvious. "You're half demon yourself, Sehkmet."

"Half demon. My human half is dominant. These are full-blooded demons. Is he insane?"

"It's not our place to question him."

Cale shot Dais a look. He was right, of course, but even he was questioning this move. "Talpa tried to use demons to take out the Ronins. Remember Saranbo? He tried to get the power of the Inferno for himself, to make himself lord of the Dynasty." Cale rubbed the back of his head. "How the hell will he keep control of not just one or two, but all demons? Especially when he invites them into the Castle?"

"Perhaps you should send word to have the demon classes send a representative."

Cale stopped walking and his brow furrowed as Dais kept walking. "How can you be okay with this?"

"Because I trust Touryuki. He is a formidable leader. He has some way to deal with the demons, or he wouldn't risk inviting them here, not when he's so weak." Dais finally paused in his steps and looked over his shoulder. "You both have jobs to do, so get going."

Sehkmet let out a hiss of discontent, but vanished, undoubtedly going to the dungeon, where Kayura had stored all the soldier armor accumulated over Talpa's reign. Cale met Dais' eye and growled. "I will follow him for now. But if he-" He choked and clawed at his neck. Dais had rushed him into a wall and had his hand around his throat.

"Lord Touryuki is not to be questioned, and if I hear any more of this doubt…" Dais' grip got firmer, and Cale struggled to get any air into him. "If I hear any more of this, you will no longer be available to wear that armor." He released Cale, who fell to the floor coughing. Dais then vanished to presumably complete his own task.

Cale simply sat there glowering, but unwilling to do anything other than catch his breath at the moment. Dais's loyalty was admirable, but Cale had learned the first time around that blinding loyalty could lead to defeat. _Should he fail, Dais, or bring this place under siege by demons, I will kill him and take his place as Lord of the Dynasty._ It was ambitious, but he'd rather betray his master than fall into the hands of the monsters Touryuki wished him to summon. 

Getting up, he closed his eyes and reached out with his power, touching the minds of the wolves of the Dynasty. With Talpa gone, the natural ecology of the Nether Realm had reasserted itself, including an animal kingdom. The wolves would get the messages to the demons the fastest. _Send your best representative, each class, each demon, and come to the castle. You are to meet the new master of the Dynasty, and if you fail to appear, you will be slaughtered._ He felt the canines take off to every corner of this world and the one of the Ronins. _Now, to get some rest._

~*()*~

"Ben Affleck was in 'Good Will Hunting' with Matt Damon, who was in 'The Rainmaker' with Claire Danes, who was in 'Romeo and Juliet' with Leonardo DiCaprio, who was in 'Titanic' with Kate Winslet, who was in 'Sense and Sensibility' with Kenneth Branaugh."

Rowen raised his eyebrows as he turned off the main road that would lead to the Koji residence. "For someone who claims to dislike American culture, you certainly know who's in their movies." 

"Satsuki enjoys them, for some reason. And she likes me to watch with her."

Rowen snickered. "Your younger sister can talk you into watching movies you hate?"

"Oh shut up."

Rowen grinned and kept driving. Sage had slept most of the trip to Mia's. The instant he was buckled up and Rowen had the car going, Sage's head had rolled back and he'd fallen dead asleep. It wasn't until an hour ago, just as they got on the turnoff for Toyama, that Sage finally awakened from his slumber. It was nearly midnight, and he was sure with Kento's conservative driving the others would arrive even later, but he wasn't too tired. Of course, he was used to late nights thanks to his schoolwork. It also helped that he had brought a mug of coffee with him, which was almost empty at this point.

So, after Sage checked on their other sleeping passenger in the back, they had started talking, doing some quick catch up, and somehow they had gotten on a game of Six Degrees. He wasn't sure how, but he suspected it was due to hanging out with Kento. "Alright, I'm ready for the next one."

"Maybe later." Sage waved his hand towards the window. "We're almost there."

"Alright." Rowen parked the jeep next to the van that had become Cye and Mia's mode of transportation. Cye had said it was because Mia brought a lot of papers and research to and from the college, but Rowen was a genius. They were planning ahead, for when they had children. 

Despite the late hour, Cye was obviously still awake, as he walked out of the house and gave them both a strained smile. Rowen glanced at Sage. _He's had a hard day._ "Hey Cye. Can you give Sage and I a hand?"

"With luggage?"

Rowen pulled the bag strap over his shoulder and shook his head. He jerked his thumb to the jeep. "With sleeping beauty."

Cye closed his eyes. "Rowen, I've had a long day…"

"He means Anubis, Cye." Sage pulled the man in question from the back seat, and Cye was by his side immediately, helping to hold the ex-Warlord up. "You okay?"

"It's just been a really long day. First the nightmare, then calling you guys, Mia and I have been doing research all day…" 

Rowen held open the front door for them and heard a car coming up the drive. _Guess Kento finally learned how to drive decently._ He left the door unlocked for them and spotted his friends helping Anubis upstairs, probably to lay him one of the many bedrooms. He dropped the duffle bag by the couch and took a quick tour around the room. It had changed a bit, the most obvious change was the large tank that held an assortment of tropical fish. _Guess Cye couldn't put them in the lake._

There were some newer pictures hanging on the walls as well. Some from Ryo's party in America, a couple from Africa, and one of the guys in their new armors. He smirked as he recalled how giddy Mia was after she got over the shock and worry about what had happened to them. There were others as well, mostly just pictures of Cye and Mia. There was one from their honeymoon at Tokyo Disney. He had never pegged Cye as a Disney fan, but apparently the water Ronin had loved the Mouse from the beginning.

"Hey Ro, buddy. I caught you driving on the freeway. Still a bat out of hell, huh?"

Rowen laughed and put his hands on his waist, turning to face them. "I see you finally stopped driving like an old lady."

"Hey! I'll have you kno-"

"Kento, shh." Ryo stepped in carrying a sleeping Yulie. "He fell asleep a few hours ago, and let's not wake him."

Cye had returned from upstairs, and waved in the direction of the rooms. "Go ahead and put him in his old room. And keep it down. I didn't get Mia down until an hour ago."

Ryo nodded and slipped past the older boy. "Thanks."

Kento waited until Ryo was upstairs. "Get her down?"

"You know how she gets when she delves into research. We finally hit a possibility of who this Ice Warlord I saw in my dream was, and she just refused to stop. I eventually just put some sleeping herbs in her tea." He sighed and sat back on the couch. 

"You look like you could use some of those herbs yourself." Rowen grabbed a chair from the adjoining dining room and turned it around so he could straddle it, resting his arms on its back. "You didn't have to wait up."

"I wanted to."

Rowen caught a bit of a haunted expression in Cye's eyes, and was glad he wasn't the only one as Kento took the lead.

"What's wrong, man? You're obviously tired. We're here. We can all get some rest and talk tomorrow."

Cye rubbed his hands together. "I'm fine, Kento. Really."  
Sage's soft voice floated into the room. "You're not fine, not when you're afraid to go to sleep."

Cye shot Sage a nasty look as the blond leaned against the fire mantle. "I'm not afraid."

"You are." Sage tapped his forehead. "I can sense it, remember?"

Cye continued to glare, but turned away as Ryo returned to the room. "So maybe I am, a little."

Ryo rested a hand on Cye's shoulder. "Go upstairs and relax, Cye. We're here. If you have another dream, we'll be here for you."

Rowen rested his chin on his arms. Ryo was already falling back into the role as leader. _We've changed, Ryo. _He was, and would always be the leader, but life was different from how it was. Rowen had obligations he couldn't ignore, at least over the next week. "We'll be here for tonight, at least." That brought everyone's gaze onto him. He was a little uncomfortable being the source of such scrutiny, but he didn't let it show. 

"Rowen, we're staying here for the war."

Rowen bobbed his head. "I agree, Ryo. But I have to be back at school tomorrow."

"What?" Ryo frowned and crossed his arms. "Rowen-"

"I'm sorry, Ryo. Some of us have lives that can't be put on hold. I nearly lost one semester this year, I'm not losing another."

"Rowen, man, I think you're not quite on the same page as us."

"Actually, Kento," Sage's eyes bore into Rowen's head, "he's exactly on the same page. He knows what he's saying."

"Once this year is out, I'll go on hiatus and focus full time. It's a week."

"The Dynasty doesn't acknowledge weeks, or lives, or any of that crap! This new guy could order an attack at any second!"

"So call me on my cell phone. I can teleport, remember?"

"That's not the point!" Ryo stormed over to Rowen and planted his hands on the younger man's shoulders. "You have a duty as a Ronin that you can't ignore!"

Rowen tried to keep his voice calm. "I'm not ignoring it, I'm saying you can reach me at any time, even during class, though I'll be despised for it. But unlike you, I can't just pick up and leave. If I don't finish my tests and reports and projects, I could lose a whole semester of credit."

"Hey, Rowen, I didn't want to just pick up and leave. I have paying clients."

Sage spoke up a well. "And I have students."

"All of which can be covered by family members! All of you can get someone to cover for you or you don't need to be covered!" He looked at Ryo as he made his last statement. "I don't! I can't just call up my mom and say, 'Oh, hi, I need you to finish off my classes cause I'm saving the world' or tell the school administrator I'm leaving because some mystical evil is invading our realm! I don't have that luxury!"

"You are a Ronin Warrior!"

"And I'm a student, a damned good one! I promise to put my life on hold, but not right now! One week, that's all I'm asking for. I'll even stay here. Teleport to and from school each day, would that make you happy? I'll be right here every morning and every evening."

Ryo stood back and crossed his arms. "The Dynasty won't respect school hours."

"And you should respect my decision. I know the risks, Ryo. I know I'm possibly setting up my college for an attack, or that I could be ambushed, but frankly I'm willing to take that risk."

"We're not. We need you, Rowen."

Rowen sighed and shook his head. "Fine, I'll take Kento with me every day. It's not usual for him to hang around waiting for me."

Sage coughed. "With his stomach, that might not be such a good idea. Those teleports can be bumpy."

Rowen stuck his tongue out at Sage, then looked back at Ryo. "The fact is, I'm doing this. I'm not going to let the Dynasty ruin my life. Not this time." He got up from the chair and went into the kitchen, effectively ending the conversation. _You guys have it easy, but I don't._ He knew his duty as a Ronin, but he meant what he said. He finally had his life in order, and he was not going to let the Dynasty just interrupt it. _Sorry, Ryo. You can be as pissed as you want, but I'm only asking for one week. You can live with one week._ He just hoped the Dynasty would be busy for his last week.

~*()*~

"Can you believe him? He just…he can't…"

Kento watched Rowen leave the room, trying to gauge what he should do. On one hand, he wanted to go after Rowen and find out what that was about. On the other, though, someone needed to get Ryo to calm down, and Sage wasn't having much luck with it. He couldn't count on Cye, either, as the eldest Ronin seemed to be drifting off to sleep where he sat.

_Guess it's up to me._ He got up from his seat and patted Ryo's back. "Calm down, man. Rowen's got a point."

"What do you mean he's got a point?"

"He doesn't have anyone to cover for him. Cye works at home, you wander around and do odd jobs, and Sage and I have family to cover for our jobs. Who does Rowen have?" Kento did briefly recall the teen that Rowen was talking to when he found him, but he didn't know what the relation was between them. "If he's here every night, and we keep in contact with him, it should minimize the risk, right?"

"What about the Dynasty attacking Rowen at school? His being there endangers all of the students!"

Kento frowned. He hadn't really thought about that. _Ryo's got a point there._ "Well, um, as long as one of us is with him, we could probably get the enemy away from campus, right?"

"Maybe, and maybe the Warlord will simply kill the students!"

Sage rubbed his temples. "Ryo, calm down."

"I won't! Where does he get off making decisions like that!"

"He has a right to live his life, especially him. He's the youngest of us, and he was just finding his path in life when this came up."

"That doesn't give him the right to brush this off!"

"He hasn't brushed his duties off, he just wants to complete one normal thing." Sage ran a hand through his hair. "The events with Suzunagi already screwed up his year, a year he really wanted to go smoothly. It's not what we would do, but we can't fight him on this. You know how stubborn he is. If we cause a division among us now, before a new war…"

Kento knew what Sage meant. The powers of their armors were strengthened by the bonds of mutual friendship they had. Even these new armors seemed to grow stronger when they fought as a team, with unity. "It's one week, Ryo. It's not like he's asking for maternity leave or something." Cye let out a snort as his head slipped down and he looked around. "Besides, we can kick Dynasty ass without him. The four of us can take care of any tin cans they throw at us."

"And what about the college, huh? What if the Dynasty attacks there, or worse, one of the Warlords attacks there? Do you know how many people could die or get captured? We let the population of Toyama become prisoners, we can't let that happened to anyone else, anywhere else!"

"And we won't. As long as one of us always goes with Rowen, we'll be able to thwart them."

Sage stuffed his hands in his pockets. "I'll go. I don't like the ride, but I can at least sense darkness when it approaches. That should give us plenty of time to get together, maybe even teleport back and get the rest of you." 

"There, see Ryo? We can cover him for a week."

Ryo scowled and grumbled, but nodded. 

"What was just decided?"

Kento chuckled and helped Cye off the couch. "I'll explain in the morning. You need to get some sleep."

"Sleep…right." 

"Hey, Cye," Cye glanced over to Sage, "I'll put up some wards and keep a mental eye on you. If you start to have a nightmare again, we'll get you out of it."

Cye gave Sage a weak smile. "Thanks." 

Kento led Cye up the stairs, catching Ryo asking Sage about wards before they hit the second story. _He grew up near a temple. He should know something or two._

"I can make it from here, thanks."

"No prob." He patted Cye's back, waiting at the landing of the stairs until Cye safely made it to his room. _Poor guy._ He wondered if Cye would be up to cooking tomorrow, or if he and Rowen would have to take that duty. _Rowen._ He backtracked down the stairs and walked through the living room, Sage and Ryo too busy discussing something to notice him, and into the kitchen. He spotted Rowen immediately. He had pulled a chair from the table over by the window and was staring at the stars. "Good view?"

"It's better than when I'm in the city, yeah."

Kento took a seat at a chair still at the table. "You want to look at me? Or just stare out the window?" He heard Rowen sigh, and for a good few minutes Rowen made no effort to move. Then, finally, he turned his own seat around and faced Kento. 

"I'm not changing my mind. I do know my duty as a Ronin, but I won't, I can't just leave my life. Not this time."

"It's alright, Ro. We convinced Ryo it'd be fine. Sage will accompany you every day since he can sense evil, and you can finish up the week." The tension from Rowen's posture flowed away in an instant, but Kento could still see some worry in his friend's face. "What's wrong?"

"Huh?"

"Is this about that kid you were talking with earlier?"

Rowen looked at him, then groaned and hung his head. "Damn. I meant to call him, tell him everything was okay."

"Who was it? He looked like your twin." Rowen's gaze shifted away from Kento, and he went silent. Kento recognized Rowen's thinking style. _Whoever this guy is, Rowen's not sure whether we should know of him._ That was a bit worrisome. Rowen tended not to keep secrets from him. From the other guys, yeah, but from him, never. They grew up together, and they had never kept secrets from each other. 

"It…it's someone I care about, and haven't seen in a while. But if I tell you," Rowen rubbed his hands together, "I don't want him to be a part of this, and I'm afraid he'll be sucked in. By me…or by his own effort."

"Okay, but you didn't tell me who he was."

"He," Rowen's eyes flitted towards Kento before returning their gaze to the ground, "he's my brother. My younger brother."

Kento's brow furrowed. "You mean like your step-brother because of the divorce?"

"No, I mean…my brother. He was born about fourteen months after me."

Kento bristled, but tried not to show it. If Rowen was telling the truth, that meant he had lied for years, and not about some small thing. "You never told me about him." 

"He left with mom in the divorce. I…kept in contact with him until the first war."

"But why didn't you tell me? Any of us?"

"He's…I didn't want to risk his life during the war."

"And me? We were friends for years before the war started!"

Rowen offered Kento a small shrug. "Dad didn't like me to talk about him, I guess I just got used to…not mentioning him."

"Geeze, Rowen! This is big! I'm your friend, you didn't have to-"

Rowen interrupted him in a low voice. "He's different, Kento."

Kento stopped and blinked at the younger Ronin. "Different?"  
"Different." Rowen didn't expand on the term, just let it hang there. "And I love him, I do, but I didn't want his…difference to be known, even among friends." He glanced at Kento. "There would've been questions I couldn't answer, things you'd want to know that I couldn't tell you. It was…easier to keep him a secret."

Kento watched Rowen fiddle with his hands, obviously uncomfortable telling him this. _But…a baby brother. _Kento could've kept the secret. He would've been proud to help the kid with any disability he had. "Rowen, I'm your friend, your best friend. You could've told me."

"I know. It…just never seemed like a good time to bring it up."

Kento reached over and squeezed Rowen's shoulder. "I'm still upset, but I can understand you not wanting to talk about someone who's…different." He gave Rowen's shy glance a grin. "Why don't you tell me about him now? We're going to be living in the same city when this whole mess is over."

"Maybe later." Rowen sat back and looked out the window once more. "Right now I'm worried he'll put two and two together and realize we have another fight."

"He saw the Africa thing, huh?"

"Yeah."

"Well, just tell him to keep his head down and you'll be back by next year."

"If I have to, but he may get swamped by school and forget about me." 

Kento had to agree with the doubtful tone in Rowen's voice. "He may."

"Look, um, Kento. Could you not tell the others? At least…not until this war ends."

"Sure, no prob. But you and I," he jabbed his finger between the two of them, "are going to talk about this."

"Alright. I owe you that much, at least."

"Well, yeah." Both Ronins remained silent for a few minutes, Kento's ears picking up Sage and Ryo talking in the other room. "So, Cye will probably be wiped tomorrow. Think you and I can handle breakfast?"

Rowen offered Kento a lopsided grin. "Better than Ryo can."

Kento turned a little green. Ryo's one, and only, cooking attempt that sent all four Ronins to the hospital was a very potent memory. "Thanks for reminding me."

Rowen nodded, took one last look out the window, and stood up. "I'd better get some sleep. I still have class tomorrow. Goodnight, Kento. And thanks."

"Sleep well." Kento observed Rowen leave, then got up and put Rowen's chair back at the table. _A little brother. Wonder what other secrets are floating about._

~*()*~

He didn't have much time, he never would, not if he wanted to keep his presence a secret from the man known as Touryuki. He could only stay for ten minutes, maybe fifteen, but no longer. He wouldn't need to stay that long. He only had two things to do, but one chore took precedence over the other. He had to make sure she was okay, that she wasn't dead.

Kayura.

She was still encased in the unholy ice, a crystal so strong and alien that not even the desert heat had melted it. He'd done everything short of tossing her into a volcano, which he wouldn't do. That would put her life in danger, and with the Warlords on the side of evil, her life was in enough danger as it was. Despite her frozen state, he could feel a faint heartbeat through the icy casing. It was weak, and very slow, but it was there. All he had to do was make sure she stayed alive until he could free her.

The Staff didn't even acknowledge him, which was a bit of a blessing and a curse. If it had, he'd be exposed to Touryuki, and all his work would be for naught. But the fact that it hadn't responded to him meant that its power was also encased in the ice. The Ronins wouldn't be able to reach it for help, and without an Ancient, they might have problems defeating this new Warlord.

But Anubis was free. Injured, and probably dying, but free. There was a slim chance the Ronins would find him, a possibility of being saved. A depressing thought, but it was their only hope, the only one who could tell the Ronins what they needed to know. To warn them of Touryuki, to tap into the Ancient's knowledge buried in his subconscious and reveal to them the way to destroy the new Dynasty master.

But first he had to survive, and there was one way to increase his chance of survival. Turning away, he searched around the room. The Armor of Cruelty, it was the only thing that could not just save him, but protect him from any further attacks by Touryuki. If the Ice Warlord managed to subvert the demons tomorrow, then there would be no place safe for Anubis. Or the Ronins, but they at least had their armor to protect them.

The big question was where Kayura hid it. She rarely wore the armor, preferring to wear the robes of her people, but its power was always a her fingertips. This room, this small temple, was isolated away from the palace. Outside it was iced over, like the rest of the lands. Inside, though, the Ancient power and wards placed up by Kayura had kept everything normal, untouched by the darkness beyond the single doorway. With luck she would remain safe here, where the Warlords wouldn't find her. 

But where was the armor. It was in this sanctuary of hers, obviously, but its location remained a mystery. There were so many hiding places, so many possibilities. It could take hours to find that one small marble. Kayura wouldn't do that, though. In case of an emergency, she would put it only where someone who knew her would find it, someone like him, who knew her almost as well as she knew herself. 

With that in mind, It only took him a minute to find the marble resting atop a cushion in a small, hidden away shrine. It was innocuous, out of sight. Unless one knew she prayed to it, the area would be overlooked. Now all he had to do was send the armor to Earth, to Anubis' hand. It would be difficult, even life threatening, but if there was a chance it would help, he would do it. He had to. For all their sakes.

~*()*~

Anubis rolled over in his bed, exhausted, unconscious, unaware of where he was or what was going on around him. His mind was taking him on a journey through his subconscious, to find what the truths he needed to defeat this new enemy. Images, dates, events, all of it flashed before him in his dreams, and it took all of his concentration to filter through them, to make sense of them. He was so engrossed in the mindscape, that he never noticed a dull golden sphere materialize by his hand…

~*()*~

~*()*~

~*()*~

Author's Prattle: And here's chapter two. Didn't take at all long for me to get out, surprisingly enough, especially considering the length. So, for those faithful readers of mine, with luck they'll be coming out pretty fast. I've already got chapter three started, but with Spring Break coming up, it may be a while before I actually get time to finish it. I'm doing a complete overhaul of certain aspects of my life, and that week off is probably the only time I'll have to do it in. 

Disclaimers. I don't own Yoroiden Samurai Troopers/Ronin Warriors. They belong to Sunrise, Nagoya TV, and Sony Music Entertainment. The art book and CD info belong to their respective artists (which I believe is still Sunrise and Sony). Richard IS mine, though, as is this plot.

Well, that's it for this chapter. I updated two other of my fics with this, so feel free to check those out too. Otherwise, constructive criticism is always welcome (in emails or reviews), but most importantly, I hope you enjoyed reading!


	3. Chapter 3

Life and Soul

__

By Cypher

****

Chapter Three

Demons, while part of the Nether World, had never been a part of Talpa's reign. He hadn't even sought out the ones on Earth, not trusting them to follow him unquestioningly as the Warlords had. As a result, demons had been hunted out of the mainland of the Nether World and pushed to its borders. Those that dared to go beyond the set borders without permission were killed on sight by the guards. Over the first two hundred years of Talpa's rule, dozens of demons were slaughtered for no reason other than they crossed a line on a map.

With Talpa's defeat at the hands of the Ronin Warriors, Kayura dismantled the Dynasty army, but debated whether she should keep the ones guarding the demon borders around. In the end, she voted to release the spirits in the armors, opening the borders between the Nether Realm mainland and the Demons for the first time in a thousand years. But after a millennia of being boxed up, the demons hadn't even noticed the change, and remained in their corners of the world.

Thus, when Cale's wolves breached the now defunct borders to deliver the message, many were skeptical, wondering if this was a trick to wipe out demons for good. Until they heard that Earth demons would be joining the summit as well, they were going to refuse the invitation. In an uncharacteristic display of diplomacy they even let the messengers live after the message had been announced. Teleportation wasn't a part of every demon's powers, but those that couldn't teleport could reach the Dynasty castle fairly quickly. It was a small realm, after all.

Sehkmet was still dealing with the armors in the dungeon, and Dais had vanished into the night, leaving Cale to guide the demons around the castle and to the throne room. It was difficult. The Earthly demons were wary, but had kept their powers in lockdown. The Nether World demons, though, the ones that were formed of their powers, were far more rowdy. The worst were the fire demons, melting as much ice they could. Those not at war with that faction had huddled near them, to help keep warm.

By noon, Dynasty time, every demon faction known had sent a representative, and the throne room was beginning to feel crowded. Cale crossed his arms and leaned against the now closed doors, his eyes darting around to make sure there wouldn't be too much trouble. He doubted Touryuki could contain these creatures, but then again, he had frozen an Ancient. Not even Talpa had achieved that.

The weakest of the demons, Chryseoi, were standing to the right of the throne, conversing softly. One would never be able to tell that they were demons, as they looked completely human. Except for the fact that they had powers and, every now and then, their eyes glowed, they could blend in perfectly with humanity. That ability to hide came at a high price, and while they had powers, they were no match for any of the other demons in the room, at least, not in a one-on-one match.

Near them, a little closer to the throne, was an Einalioi, a water demon. Cale's messengers on Earth had let him know that there were no water demons to be found on that plane, only this one living in exile in a small corner of the Dynasty. While basically humanoid in appearance, its legs were closer to that of a frog, and both its toes and hands were heavily webbed, though the fingers seemed to have an extra joint to allow the fingers to extend beyond the webbing. On its back was a rocky shell, similar to a tortoise Cale had once seen, and a small tail peaked out from the lower end of it. Its ears were built right into its head, which ended in a point that resembled a newt. Two black eyes, beady and partially raised from the skin, scanned the entire room. Cale didn't think that one would be much of a problem. It seemed almost timid in posture, but that could also be the impression being given off by its aqua skin.

Argyreoi--better known as ogres--were demons with power over the Earth. They were also small in number, only a couple in the Dynasty and less than a dozen left on Earth. They had a gray skin that was rumored to be made of a very dense stone, one that no weapon could penetrate. Cale wasn't about to test it. Unlike the water demon, these wore some clothes that were very similar to the Ancient's robes, though they were brown in color and jewels had been sewn into the collar. Their necks, which could easily extend twice as far as Cale's height, were contracted and folded together. This gave a deceptive appearance that they were very dwarf-like in size. Their eyes were also a bit unnerving, large emerald-like orbs that, for all Cale could tell, were made of that very crystal.

The Argyreoi were very close to the Chthonioi (the demons who controlled fire), showing they were at peace at the moment. Wars between those two classes had been legendary, but for the last couple hundred years they had formed some sort of alliance. The Chthonioi themselves made up the majority of demons inhabiting the Dynasty fringes. The most powerful of demons, they were the second most human-looking of the lot. Each demon in the group had three horns extending from their foreheads, though the lengths varied. They all had black hair, and their eyes, rather than round, were square in build, with large dark pupils surrounded by a bronze corona. They also had two sets of fangs, and they obviously had no problem showing them off, Cale noted it even appeared to be a sign of dominance.

Few of them had traveled to the Earth realm in a long time, and it was obvious why. In addition to those physical characteristics, they also had Wildfire-red skin, with black, sharpened nails on their hands. Still, it was evident that they had influenced a number of Earth-based beliefs. While Halo had been captured during the second war he had managed to touch the warrior's mind, to help Dais find images to torment him with. What humans called the Devil and Vampires had surprised him, as both were variations of fire demons, though vampires were technically a bastard class of demon, spawned from the loins of fire demons and human-looking demons. Cale noted that no vampires were present, and he had to wonder if they even existed anymore.

The most interesting of the group, though, were the wind demons commonly referred to as Ouranoi. They were another majority in the Nether Realm, though there were quite a number on Earth as well. While also human in appearance, their skin was covered by a veil of feathers, the majority of which were black. Two wings sprouted from the shoulder blades, though currently they were folded back and looked too small to actually lift their massive frames. The most interesting aspect, though, was how the human body merged seamlessly into a raven's head. They had no real neck to speak of, though they could twist their heads are surprisingly large angles. They had a beak instead of mouth, and the eyes, a solid azure, were located on each side of the skull. They had their own language, which was almost identical to the sounds of birds, but they could also speak other languages.

Dais suddenly faded into existence to the left of the throne, wearing only his plated sub-armor. He scanned the crowd, then cleared his throat. The Argyreoi glanced at him, but the others ignored the subtle attempt to get their attention. _They're demons. They don't understand subtle._ Dais seemed to figure that out, as his next act to get their attention was to pull out a dagger and hurl it at the nearest Chthonioi. _Uh oh._

The demon grunted as the blade struck his arm, and as a group all demons faced the throne, some sneering at Dais. The one-eyed man simple crossed his arms. "Presenting the new Lord of the Dynasty, Touryuki."

Cale stood at attention, and his eyes widened as their new master stepped out from behind the throne, not wearing his armor, but his sub-armor. It was designed similarly to his and the other Warlords, plates that had been fused together once donned. Unlike theirs, the base plate was ribbed, like the Ronins' sub-armor from the first war. It was even white, and Cale wondered briefly if this man was once a Ronin. _No, the Ronins would've searched for him if he were one of them._ Besides that, the platted aspect of the armor was a glacier blue, glowing even in the dim light of the room.

This was the first time he had seen the Warlord without his helmet, and was surprised to see that he looked every bit as human as his companions. His face was just as pale as it was before, a sickly color of someone that had been in the snow too long. The icy eyes were as he remembered them, and went attractively with the silver hair that adorned his head. It was short, and remained unkempt, giving it a wild look.

It shocked Cale enough that he took a step back. _He's human. Completely human._ The demons feared Talpa because he had lost his humanity, had transformed into a being of evil energy held together solely by an armor. _There's no reason for them to fear him._ He reached over his shoulder and gripped the handle of his no-datchi. This could degenerate fairly quickly.

"Demons, welcome." Touryuki took a seat on his throne and rested his hands on the armrests. "I'm glad you decided to join me, rather than face utter obliteration at my hands."

"You? Obliterate us?" One of the Chthonioi let out a snort and stepped forward, its tri-horned head raising above the others as he formed a sphere of fire in its hand. "You're mortal, like the weaklings Talpa employed!"

Touryuki calmly stared are the demon and folded his hands in front of him. There was no obvious change, no signal that he would call his power, but Cale saw the ice Warlord's eyes harden, cutting the demon down with his sight. _This is going to be trouble._ Though for whom, Cale wasn't sure.

"Mortal? You think mortals are weak? Who was it that beat you back? Who was it that slaughtered your minions when you were isolated all those centuries ago?"

Cale felt some angered gazes fall on him, and saw even Dais take a step away from the horde. _Thanks for diverting their attention to us, master._ The grip on his weapon tightened.

"That was then. Now," the demon sneered and raised its hand, "we can destroy you!" He hurled the fireball at the throne.

Dais made no move to shield Touryuki, and Cale wondered briefly if he should teleport in front of his leader to try and protect him. It turns out his worry was unneeded, as the attack stopped a mere foot from its target, eliciting a startled and enraged look from the Chthonioi. The fire turned into a ball of ice, then was released from its invisible hold and shattered on the ground. Touryuki stood up and kicked the ice shards off his dais. "Destroy me?" The ice warrior narrowed his eyes. "Don't be so sure."

Cale instinctively ducked as a spear of ice appeared and flew from Touryuki's side and pierced through not just the attacking fire demon, but the one standing behind it. Both of them let out a quick wail as their crimson skin went pale just before they vanished in a flash of flame. _How'd he do that?!_ Not even the Warlords could kill demons in one blow. Chthonioi were among the strongest demons there were, and nothing short of a sure-kill could destroy them.

The attack caused an uproar of activity among the higher demons. Another of the Chthonioi, obviously enraged by the murder of its brethren, let loose an arc of fire directed at Touryuki's head. An Argyreoi joined in the attack, pulling chunks of rock from the wall, floor, everywhere, bringing the stones through the ice and hurling them at Touryuki as well.

Touryuki, for his part, kept a calm look on his face, and executed a back-flip, dodging the flame. Some of the rocks narrowly missed him, but with a wave of his hand the stones iced over and fell to the floor. Purple flashed across the Warlord's eyes, indicating a summoning of Nether spirit energies. This time daggers of ice appeared in the air, and rather than just fling them with his mind, Touryuki grabbed two of them and waved at the two demons to come forward.

Dais stepped away from the impromptu battle arena, hanging out near the amphibious Einalioi, which was huddling near the Chryseoi demons of Earth. All of them were concentrated on the fight taking place just a few feet away. Touryuki wasted no time, and once the two demons were before him he launched into an attack, slicing the knives across the ogre's golem skin. Instead of chipping, the weapons actually sliced through the naturally armored surface. The creature howled and crumbled to dust as the Warlord slammed one weapon through its throat.

The Chthonioi kept his distance, but flung fireballs at the daggers still floating in the air, trying to melt them. It snarled as its partner fell under Touryuki's hands, and released another arc of flame. Touryuki didn't dodge this time. Instead, he placed his palm against the approaching flame, and ice traveled over the elemental attack back to the demon, creating a small explosion against the demon's palm that threw it to the floor. Before it could get off its back, an icicle jutted up from the ground through the demon's chest and he, like the two before him, burst into flame and vanished.

The remaining Argyreoi got antsy, and this time Cale did draw his weapon. The remaining demons were enraged, or were afraid, and both emotions in such a confined space would bode ill. The Ouranoi were already beating the wings, preparing to get an advantage in the air. Without warning, though, a multitude of energy spheres hit the ceiling, and everyone, minus Touryuki, turned to face the Chryseoi. All of them held more blue spheres in their hands, showing that they were ready to use them.

The leader of the group, a graying man dressed in a business suit, raised his voice above the grumblings. "If you're all quite through, can we get back to the matter at hand?" The sphere in his hand vanished. "We interrupted a rather busy day to be here, and I, for one, would like to leave. Anyone who would rather fight than hear what this emperor has to say will face an onslaught from us." He jutted his chin out. "Alone, our powers would do little to you, but the six of us could easily vanquish any one of you. Any challengers?"

Cale kept his weapon raised, but the other demons seemed to accept the man's terms. The Ouranoi snapped their beaks in the lesser demon's direction, but landed and folded their wings back. It made sense that the leader of the Chryseoi would hold sway here. While weak compared to Dynasty demons, he was the strongest one on Earth, and his faction had conquered and united the lesser demons of that realm centuries ago. The peace he brought lasted even today, though the demons were well hidden and rarely got to use their abilities.

"Well done, Lucretius." Touryuki faced the older man. "You are as forceful a leader as you were when I first met you."

Cale tried to hide the shocked look he was sure he had, and finally willed his facemask closed to prevent anyone from seeing it. _He knew this man?_ No one in the Dynasty had learned the name of the demon leader. The fact that Touryuki knew it simply enhanced his power in this meeting.

"I am here only in the official capacity as leader. If I could I would march all demons at my disposal against you." The bitterness in Lucretius' tone let not just Cale, but everyone know how much the man distrusted and disliked the ice Warlord.

Touryuki shot Lucretius a look, but declined to say anything, or even kill the man. _Makes sense. If he kills the leader now he would plunge the demons on Earth into a civil war and would never win their loyalty._ Instead, the Dynasty master stepped in front of his throne and put a hand on his hip.

"I hope that I won't have to dispense with the rest of you." No one stepped forward, even the Chthonioi failed to meet Touryuki's challenging gaze. "Good. The offer is simple. Submit yourselves to me, or be destroyed."

Lucretius and his group immediately started talking quietly, and Cale saw the wind demons spread their wings to give them some privacy as they conferred. The Einalioi tapped its webbed foot, but having no one to confer with, simply watched the proceedings. The remaining Argyreoi stomped their feet, some sort of communication that Cale couldn't translate. As predicted, though, the tempers of the Chthonioi were the biggest obstacle.

The new leader of their group stepped forward and growled, an angry glow radiating off his skin. "What makes you think you have the power to make us bow to you. You may kill us, but you could never kill all demons, and they would rise against you." A smirk crossed the demon's face. "What power do you have to make us your servants?"

Talk in the room ceased at the demon's challenge, all eyes on Touryuki. It was a valid question, and even Cale didn't know the answer. _What power does he have?_

Touryuki took a slow step forward. "I have power over you," he took another step, "because Talpa granted me that power," he took half a step down and looked the demon in his eyes, "when he forged me and my armor." A silver light appeared on Touryuki's forehead, a kanji.

Cale felt himself gasp, and did a quick check to make sure no one else had noticed. Dais seemed just as surprised, and while he remained where he was, his one eye widened. The light was bright, but Cale could make out the kanji of Taiyoku. _Avarice. _On Earth, the term was commonly associated with greed, but in its most basic form, in the kanji style he was looking at, it translated into the subjugation of lives and taking sadistic pleasure in depriving people of power. It fit Touryuki, and what he was doing to both the Warlords and the demons.

As for the demon, he seemed to be wincing in pain, as if the light was hurting him. Then, with a grunt of pain and a yelp of indignation, the Chthonioi fell to one knee and bowed his head. Touryuki met the eyes of the other demons present. "I hold power over you, and I control whether you live," he grabbed the demon's head and in one swift twist pulled it from its body, "or die." He tossed the head to the middle of the throne room and turned back to his chair, ignoring the corpse lying just a yard away from him.

The other demons looked at each other, and showing some backbone, the Einalioi spoke up. "How is it that a simple mortal gained power over demons? Not even Anubis of Cruelty could do that."

Touryuki sat down and looked towards the ceiling. "I said Talpa forged me, and I meant it in the literal sense. The demon woman, the one who controls all snow and has wandered Earth from the dawn of humanity."

"The legends on Earth refer to her as the Snow Woman," Lucretius contributed. "Said to be a spirit that's condemned to search the snow tops of mountains for her lost love."

"She was real. Talpa had her brought to the Dynasty, and infused her essence into that of a dying man." Touryuki's mouth turned up in a small smirk. "I was spawned from the fusion of a human and a Nomioi demon. He had made a Proseous. Created to defeat the legend of Inferno, he still wished to subdue the demons of the realm. It was only after he gave me the virtue of Avarice that he realized his error."

Cale looked to Dais. As the eldest Warlord, he would be the only one who would've been around when this occurred. Instead, he found the illusionist listening to the story just as intently as he and the demons were. _Talpa had the armors by then, Badamon needed their power to see into the future._ That meant Touryuki was Talpa's first true Warlord, one he had hoped would expand his powers into the demonic domain.

"He sent Saber Stryke to dispense with me, as I would not bow to his whims. Even the swords forged for the strongest Ronin armor chipped against my power. I was still young, though, a mere seventy years old, and he managed to trick me into entering a trap of Nether Spirits. I tried summoning you," his gaze flicked over to Chthonioi, "but my power couldn't reach your territories, and he sealed me away on Earth."

"Talpa's gone. How did escape your prison?"

Touryuki shot the Einalioi a dangerous look, warning him he was stepping over his bounds. It was Lucretius, however, that picked up the story.

"Touryuki had visited the Earth Realm. He and I did battle numerous times, and when I heard he was imprisoned, I sent a sentry to watch over him for eternity." Touryuki's smirk returned, and Cale realized that the sentry probably fell to the Warlord's wrath. "We knew he could sense us, all demons for that matter, but could do nothing to influence us, to try and force us to break him free. But six months ago the sentry reported the appearance of multiple Nether Spirits, all converging in his prison.

"They merged into one great spirit, and began undoing Talpa's spell. We tried to stop it from freeing him," Lucretius glanced to his left, where one of the younger Chryseoi was looking at the floor. "It cost us a number of lives, all of which fueled the spirit's power. In the end, it broke through the ward and joined its essence with him."

"You were expecting this summit, then."

Lucretius crossed his arms. "I expected you to come after us, not offer an alliance."

"I offered to take you into my empire. Never make the mistake of assuming you're equal to me. Any of you." He cast his gaze across the room. "Declare your allegiances now. The time for discussion is over. All who will serve me, step forward."

Lucretius and his group, though begrudgingly, stepped forward. The Einalioi also stepped forward, even bowing his head and placing a fist over his heart. A small fire bristled around the Chthonioi, but in the end they knelt to one knee, not wanting to near the colder atmosphere that had surrounded Touryuki.

The Argyreoi were having difficulty deciding what to do. Cale knew that there were only a few of their kind left, and while they feared Touryuki, most of them could be affected by the armor of Hardrock, even summoned to its power. _They don't know who to follow._ After a minute, they also stepped forward, but unlike the others they had a worried look on their face. The Ouranoi were the most hesitant, making chirping noises as they spoke in a language only they could understand. Eventually one of them floated forward, but the neither bowed nor looked towards Touryuki. Cale figured their people were divided on the issue.

"Excellent. Dais, show Lucretius and the Chthonioi to the war room. I have specific instructions for them." Dais bowed and, looking at both set of demons, faded out of the room with them. Touryuki looked towards the Argyreoi. "Your people are few and their powers weak against the Ronins. But no one realizes you're around because your element is everywhere. Go among Japan and find the families of the Ronins."

The larger of the ogres spoke up. "We are to be hunters?"

"Spies. For now, find the families."

"Yes, Lord Touryuki." They turned and walked towards the exit, and Cale, after a nod from the emperor, stepped aside and opened the doors for them. _So he's going to strike the Ronin families._ He had to admit, that was a rather brilliant plan. It would deliver a psychological blow that the Ronins would probably never recover from.

"Ouranoi-"

"We wish to serve you, sir, but cannot."

Touryuki's eyes narrowed, and Cale got ready to shut the doors again, to prevent their escape.

The demon bravely stood her ground. "We are in the midst of a war. We cannot take part in yours until we complete our own."

Touryuki released a growl, but made no threatening moves. "The sprites."

"Yes."

_Sprites?_ Cale looked between the Warlord and the bird-like demon, trying to understand what was going on. He of course knew the myth of sprites, but was clueless about any war. _Does this mean sprites are real? And why are the demons fighting them?_

"You're right, it's too risky at the moment. When I have executed my other plans and taken down the one threat to me, I will send you reinforcements. Once your enemy has been vanquished, you will join my army."

The demon looked back at the others, then turned back to Touryuki and bowed. "Yes, my lord."

"Until that time, keep the sprites busy. I don't want them helping the Ronins. Now leave." The words were barely out of Touryuki's mouth before the Ouranoi took to the air and flew out the door, escaping. "And you," Touryuki's eyes flashed as his gaze settled on the sole water demon, "you are the last of your kind. I have no need for you."

Cale unsheathed his claws and locked his eyes on the final demon. If Touryuki didn't need the demon, he might have to block the creature's escape route. _The last of his kind?_ That was an interesting fact, though now that he thought about it, it made sense.

The Einalioi took a step back, bowing his head. "But I am at your command, my liege. The power over water, the eldest and most powerful of my kin-" He choked as his throat froze over.

"I have no need for your kind, demon." Touryuki raised an arm and ice began to grow over the demon's legs. "You are untrustworthy. Your kind were the first to betray the will of evil, and I can't risk that, not now."

The demon clawed at his throat, and croaked out the word, "Seer."

Cale frowned, not understanding what he meant, but Touryuki obviously did, as the ice traveling up the creature's body stopped. The ice around the throat vanished, and the demon took a couple deep breaths. "What of Seers?"

"You need one. I have the power of water scrying." The demon's eyes were wide, pleading, and Cale had to feel a little sorry for how pathetic it looked. "If you kill me, the art will be lost, and none of the others can see the future."

Cale could hear Touryuki grind his teeth from across the room, and furrowed his brow. Thinking back to his early days, he did recall Dais referring to Badamon as a Seer. _Water scrying usually deals with seeing into the future--of course! Like a high priest._ None of the Warlords could fulfill that role, and there were no Nether Spirits that could do it. _Badamon was one of a kind._ A blessing and a curse, in some ways.

Touryuki kept the demon in ice a few more minutes, then let it shatter, causing the aquatic creature to lose its balance and fall to the ground. "I shall see how you do as a Seer, but I warn you, I have a low tolerance for tricks. You will have no second chances."

The demon nodded and got to its knees, prostrating itself before the Warlord. "I understand, my lord."

Touryuki walked towards the door, ignoring the kneeling creature. "Take him to Badamon's chambers. Perhaps he can find the Cruelty armor using some of the ghost's tricks."

Cale bowed his head as Touryuki passed him and left the room, presumably to go to the war room. _So Cruelty is still lost._ That was an interesting bit of information. He waited until he no longer heard Touryuki's footsteps before standing up. The demon was already up, watching the doorway. _Perhaps Touryuki's desire to eliminate him was well founded. _The gaze he was receiving unnerved him, though he couldn't quite place why. "Follow me."

"Of course, Lord Cale."

Cale's steps faulted a moment at the honorary title. "What do we call you?"

"Seer, but I'm also known as Seleucus…"

()

Richard's head jerked back and forth as he tried to sleep, his body twisting in an attempt to escape. His sheets and blankets had long since fallen to the floor, and sweat was soaking his hair. It wasn't so much a nightmare as it was an empathic jump. He hadn't had one since seventh grade, when his abilities had jumped from passive empathy to active, allowing him to feel not just people around him, but people he was no where near. He struggled to wake up, nearly crying when he couldn't escape his dreamscape prison.

He didn't know what sort of empathic leap this was, but he didn't want it, any of it. He was picking up the dreams and nightmares of people all over Kyoto, but that wasn't the worst of it. Images were flashing through his mind, images that terrified him. An elderly man defeating an ugly armor and breaking it into nine, one of which he recognized as Rowen's. A ghostly figure floating in the middle of a room of ice, shrieking as it exploded and the room collapsed. Old writings with a depiction of a white armor that was resting with a jewel on one side, and two swords on the other. A man surrounded by ice, flinging crystal shards into a crowd of people, slaughtering them and painting the ground with blood.

He not only saw it all, but he was broadcasting his feelings, and he knew it. He tried not to, tried to spare the people of the city from the terror he felt, but he'd lost control. He couldn't stop the broadcast, he couldn't prevent other people from suffering his nightmare. Another image appeared before him, one of the old man again, the monk, casting some spell on the body of a man. Energy came from the night sky, gathering around the body, before striking the man right in the chest and enveloping him in a blanket of pain. This time he could cry out, and his back arched as he let out a howl of pain, channeling the scene he was watching in his dreams.

And then, it was gone. The images, the pain, everything. He still couldn't wake up, and the terror was still there, but he was in a plane of white. No ground, no sky, just a white glow all around him. _Am I…dead?_ He always assumed his power would kill him. It had once before, and that incident had always haunted him. Panting, he curled up and put his arms over his head, waiting to see if this was heaven or hell.

_"You're safe now."_

Richard shook his head, cringing at the soft voice. He didn't care how nice it sounded, he was scared. _"I'm not safe. I'm dead…"_ He choked on a sob, feeling a pain in his chest at the realization he'd met his brother again only to die right after.

_"You're not dead."_ Two arms wrapped around Richard's shoulders and lifted him into a sitting position, pulling his arms down and wrapping him in a hug. _"It's not death. It's just…you're awakening."_

_"A-awakening?"_ But he was sleeping, how could he be awakening?

_"You're unique, not like the others. Yours will come to you, force itself on you. It will not be handed to you with a guiding hand. It will be difficult, and possibly painful, but you must understand it has to be done. For the good of the world."_

Richard's breathing increased, and he tried to turn, to face who was holding him. _"What…what are you talking about? Good of the world?"_ If this was a dream he had no idea what it meant, but if it was real…he wasn't sure what to think if this was real. He caught a glimpse of bright green eyes, but the figure was being shadowed by the light around them.

The man released his tight hug, but kept his arms there, slowly rubbing Richard's arms to help calm him down. _"You'll understand soon enough. In the meantime, do not push away your gift, embrace it, and its advancements. Your full potential is beginning to emerge, and you must accept it, otherwise it will only cause you pain, and doom not just you, but all you hold dear."_

_"Why…why me? I'm…I don't want the responsibility, I'm…I'm scared. Of what I've seen, of what y-you say I have to do…"_ Richard settled back against the man, trying to get his heart back to its normal pace.

__

"It's alright to be scared, Richard. But don't worry. You won't be alone. I can promise you that."

"Y-you'll be here for me?"

"Sometimes. But there's someone else, someone who will stand by you no matter what happens."

Richard said nothing for a while, letting the green-eyed stranger rock him a bit. He wasn't sure what was going on, but Rowen's armor had been among his visions. _Why? Is…is he the one that will be with me? Or maybe…maybe he knows what's going on._ He banished that thought immediately. Rowen loved him, and he'd never want his little brother to suffer like this alone. If Rowen knew, he'd have said something, or been here. _Besides, his armor was destroyed. He said so._ He didn't think Rowen would lie to him, not about something so serious.

_"I have to go now, I'm still healing."_

Richard immediately stiffed and grabbed onto the man's arms, only to grab nothing. _"Wait! I-I-I can't return to…to…that horror! Please don't leave me alone!"_

"You don't have to worry. You shouldn't have any more problems tonight. Let sleep return to you. You won't be haunted any further."

Richard had his doubts, but the man was pulling away, leaving him, and he was intangible. He couldn't do anything to stop him. _"Please…"_

"Trust me, Richard. Just go back to sleep. You'll need it for the battle ahead."

"Battle?" Richard's eyes snapped open and he let out a gasp, rolling to the edge of his bed. His body hurt, especially his chest, and he was bathed in sweat. "Hello?" He looked around, trying to sense the figure that had come to him while asleep. He picked up terror and fear, general upset around him, and felt guilt eat at him. He had caused that, or more accurately, his power had. _Maybe…maybe I should just go back to the apartment. _Only that wouldn't help, as his powers had struck the entire city, or what felt like the entire city. He was probably extra sensitive, so he couldn't accurately guess.

_Just go back to sleep. Right._ His bed was soaked with his sweat, and he felt about as good as it looked. Groaning, he got up and began stripping the sheet off. He'd have to steal the sheets off another bed, but at least there was no one else rooming with him at the moment, so no one would complain. _Shower. I could use a shower._ It was late, but everyone on his floor was already awake. _Maybe if I meditated…or something…_ The man had said it was finished for tonight. He took that to mean it would happen again, and again he'd strike terror into the city. _I can't let that happen._

Throwing the dirty sheets aside, he pulled on some jeans and grabbed a towel, moving quickly out his room and down the hall to men's room. _Maybe…maybe I should just leave the city for a while. _It was possible. The school year hadn't started yet and he was registered. He wasn't needed here officially for another two weeks. _But where would I go? Any city I go to will be hit with the terror._ Stripping, he turned on the shower and climbed in, letting out a quiet moan as the warm water rushed over his body. He leaned against the wall and shut his eyes. _I could forego sleep, try and stave it off._ He had done it before, though the final backlash was so bad that an entire classroom had passed out.

_To do that to an entire city…_ Images of mass pandemonium sprang to his mind and he opened his eyes , letting the water spray his face. If he fell asleep with thoughts like that he was practically guaranteeing a nightmare. He slicked back his hair and rested his hands on the tiles. _Maybe…maybe Rowen could help me? His friend has empathy. Maybe he knows how to block the power._ It was a small hope, but it was the best he could come up with.

Scrubbing himself down quickly, he shut the shower off and stepped out. It didn't take him long to dry off, and within ten minutes he was back his common room, heading not for his room but for one of the empty ones. _I'll change the sheets tomorrow._ The man was right, he did need sleep. Whether it was the fear induced adrenaline leaving his system or the jump in his empathic abilities, he was exhausted. Collapsing on top of the bed, he tucked his head into the pillow and shut his eyes. Part of him cried out to Rowen, yearned to have him here and hold him. He didn't dwell long on the thought, as the oblivion of a dreamless sleep overtook him.

()

Rowen knocked on the door to Anubis' guest room, not wanting to startle Sage by just barging in. The bearer of Halo was trying to use his mental abilities to wake up the ex-Warlord, or at least find out what had happened in the Nether World. At his knock, the blond let out a sigh through his nose and glanced over his shoulder. "Hey, Sage. How's it going?"

"Not well. Whatever's going on, it's beyond my ability to help." Sage unfolded his legs and stood up, grabbing the back of his neck as he stretched it. "It's like he wants to stay comatose, almost as if…he's doing some soul searching."

"Maybe he is." Rowen sauntered over to the bedside table and waved his hand over the orb of Cruelty. They had found it this morning, just laying by Anubis' head. No one knew how it got there, but they weren't about to remove it from his person. Ryo had tried using his influence with Inferno to get it to don Anubis, but it hadn't so much as flickered at the Ronin leader. Through some experimentation, they had discovered that, while they could feel the armor's power, they couldn't touch it, like they could with the old armors. "Ryo says the Ancient would meditate for days at a time, and nothing would wake him. This could be a variation on that."

"Maybe." Sage looked at his watch and rubbed his eyes. "When do we have to be at the school?"

"Soon, but no rush. Classes were pushed back a few hours." Sage gave him a questioning look, and he lowered his voice. "I haven't told Ryo, but apparently the entire campus, and half the town, woke feeling terrorized."

"The Dynasty?"

Rowen shook his head. He had a suspicion of what the cause was, but until he talked to Richard, he wouldn't know for sure. "I think it's something else." His eyes went to the window, spotting a few clouds forming on the horizon.

"What?"

"I'll…explain later." He offered Sage a tight smile before looking back out the window. "What do you think of this enemy?"

"Touryuki?" The book from the Dynasty was very thorough, and this morning, after everyone had had enough sleep, Mia and Cye had sat them down and explained that they had found Talpa's Warlord of Ice. A powerful man that even Talpa regretted creating. He was sealed away in a prison of his power, but that was about as far as the narrative went. "I think we're missing something. This guy was a big threat to Talpa. He must have some power that the book hasn't mentioned."

Rowen nodded. While the book had said the man had control over ice, it hadn't specified the full extent of his power, or even if he had a kanji. "Cye said that it's one of the oldest legends from Talpa's reign, and after Touryuki was imprisoned, almost all records of him were destroyed."

"His legacy carried on in myth." Sage crossed his arms and looked to the floor. "This isn't going to be an easy battle, Rowen. Are you sure you want to risk going to school?"

"Yes." Rowen wasn't going to back down, not now. At the very least he had to tell his brother why he wouldn't be around. _I owe him that much._ And if he didn't, there was a chance Richard would try and find out himself, and that could drag in his mother, and following her, the mass media. _The last thing they need to know is that we have new armors._ Pushing up his sleeves, he stepped towards the window, the black mesh of his sub-armor appearing with barely a thought. "Speaking of school, I'm ready to go, when you are."

Sage nodded and stood beside his friend, grabbing his wrist. "Try not to rush too much today, would you?"

Rowen smirked a bit as he opened the window, and pulled Sage with him as he transformed into wind. He would try and keep it slow, but to be honest, speeds never really bothered him in this form. Sometimes he wondered if he could reach relativistic speeds, though in theory time would slow down as he approached the speed of light. _Might be an advantage in battle._ It was something he'd have to test.

A few minutes later he reformed himself in the shadow between a dorm building and a library. His sub-armor vanished as soon as Sage solidified beside him. He was a bit pale, but wasn't on the floor heaving as he was yesterday. "Better?"

"A little." Sage put a hand on the nearest wall and steadied himself. "A few more times and I might even be able to do it without the world spinning for five minutes afterward."

Rowen shook his head and patted Sage's shoulder. "You do your scouting bit, keep an eye out for Dynasty, and ping me," he tapped his head, "if you sense anything. I'll be in the library for a bit, then in that building over there," he pointed, for Sage's benefit. He doubted his friend knew the names of the buildings.

"Alright. Good luck."

"Thanks." He stepped out of the shadows and made his way to the library, nodding to a couple students he recognized. They all had stressed out looks on their faces, dark circles under their eyes and yawns escaping them every few minutes. _Study mania._ Normally he'd be one of them, but with everything going on, he couldn't. He had to be on alert. Fortunately, he had a very good memory, and studying wasn't too high a priority. _Should still cram, though._ Hence the trip to the library.

Finding a copy of his astrophysics textbook was fairly easy. While he was a lower classman, he had an advanced status that allowed him into the higher level courses. He was grateful that college was nothing like high school, and rather than receiving scorn for being so smart, his peers were impressed by his knowledge, and often offered him money to tutor them. It cut in with his study time, but he needed the money.

__

Speaking of studying… All the desks looked full on the first floor. _No problem._ He headed for the stairs and worked his way up to the fourth floor. Officially, it was the floor for people working on their PhD thesis. Unofficially, anyone could go up there and study. It was a quiet floor, and while there were fewer desks, there were a lot less people that knew all of the nooks and crannies of it. Unlike him, who had spent an inordinate amount of time exploring every inch of the library.

Heading to a little corner in the northwest of the building, he almost overlooked the blue head resting on a table. Almost. He moved back to the table and looked down. _Yep, it's Richard._ His brother was sleeping over a book; one on interpreting dreams, if he was reading the part not caught under Richard's arm right. _Odd._ Then again, terror had struck the city. _And if it wasn't Richard…_ Grabbing the chair on the other side of the table, he took a seat and nudged Richard's arm. "Hey." Richard simply buried his head further into his arms. Rolling his eyes at the familiar Hashiba maneuver, Rowen shook his brother this time. "Richard."

"M'uh?" This time Richard raised his head, his hair a mess, and stared at Rowen with bleary eyes. "Hu?"

"Methinks it's time to introduce you to the wonderful world of caffeine." He reached over and ruffled Richard's hair, a badly hidden way of straightening it out. _It's got the Hashiba craziness, too._ "You okay?"

"No…uh…huh?" Richard dropped his head into his palms and rubbed his eyes. "God, wha'time isit?"

"It's nearly ten." He rested a hand on Richard's wrist. "Are you okay, bro? I heard about the mass nightmare last night." Rowen's suspicions were confirmed when Richard not only looked away, but began fiddling with his hands. He tended to need to do something with his hands when he was uncomfortable. "What happened?"

"I…I'm not sure." He started turning the pages in the book unconsciously. "I…I think they're growing again. But…" Richard looked visibly shaken, and Rowen detected a small wince of discomfort when the younger teen sucked in a deep breath. "I don't know…I…I'm scared, I want to stop this, but I can't." He finally left the book alone and instead wrapped his arms around himself.

Rowen sighed, but he wasn't dumb enough to overlook the coincidence. The Dynasty was returning, and his brother's empathy was evolving. _A defensive measure, perhaps? Or something more…sinister?_ He prayed it wasn't some Dynasty influence. He wanted to keep Richard as far away from the upcoming battle as possible. _But if he's terrorizing half the city…the Dynasty will be lured here._ It was a catch-22. He could remove his brother from the city and the terror that would ultimately attract the enemy, but his brother was causing the very thing that the Dynasty fed on. _There's no where safe I can take him._

That thought unnerved him, but he pushed it down. _Maybe I'm blowing this out of proportion. Maybe it really is just coincidence, a natural evolution of his abilities._ He took in Richard's hollow gaze, how he was holding himself for comfort and hunching in a slight form of protection. _Yeah right._ The question was, then, what could he do? If he brought Richard back to the mansion he'd find out not only about the armors, but the new war. On top of that, whatever had caused the fear to spread last night would spread through the Koji residence instead. Not a good idea when there were six people present that could level the house with a word or three.

"Do…do you want me to stay with you tonight?" Inside, he winced. Ryo would be furious, but he couldn't abandon his brother. Not for something like this. _Besides, if they know he can instill terror just by thought, the Dynasty would take him and use him._

Richard used the side of one hand to rub his eyes again as he shook his head. "I-I shouldn't impose. You have a life, and finals, and-"

"And you need me. Richard, you're my brother. We may not have been close physically for a while, but I've always been there for you when you needed me, and that's not going to change no matter how far or close we are to each other."

Richard remained quiet a minute, obviously thinking it over. Then, in a soft voice, he spoke, what Rowen assumed was, his real fear. "I don't want to hurt you, scare you like…like I did everyone."

Rowen raised an eyebrow. "You don't think you affected me last night?"

Richard shook his head. "You…you would've figured it out, tried to contact me. You didn't feel it last night."

_Damn, good point. So much for the 'You can't affect me again' speech._ He watched Richard shift in his seat, eyes drooping a bit. _Looks like he didn't get much sleep afterwards._ "Regardless, I will be there for you, if you want me to. I could even bring my psychic friend. Maybe he could stop the fear from escaping your mind." Sage wouldn't be happy about it either, especially about the whole 'brother' aspect, but he'd deal with his friend later. His brother needed him first and foremost.

Again, Richard was silent, but after a moment he gave Rowen a short nod, not meeting his eyes. "Thank you."

"You're my little brother. It's my duty to protect you, even from nightmares." He got up and moved behind Richard, enveloping his sibling in a hug. "And I love you, even if your powers do cause people to be frightened." He felt Richard shudder a bit, but if his brother was going to cry, he wasn't going to do it here. Instead, Richard turned in his seat and returned the hug, resting his head against Rowen.

"I'm scared…"

"It's alright to be scared. I'll be here for you, no matter what. And we'll get through this, I promise."

Richard nodded against his chest, and Rowen rubbed his back in soothing circles. _The Dynasty's approaching, the guys are just finding out I have a brother, his powers are going nuts, and finals. _The old saying was right. When it rained, it poured.

()

"He wants to what?!" Ryo threw his arms up and started pacing the room. "I can't believe him! Why don't we just tell the Dynasty to strike now and get it over with! The longer we're apart the more vulnerable we are! He knows that! Just what the hell does he think he's doing?!"

"Ryo, calm down." Mia set a tea tray on the table and began pouring cups for the Ronins. "I'm sure he wouldn't stay without good reason."

Cye nodded and pushed a cup towards Ryo. "Sage will be with him, and he's got a good Dynasty detection system. Assuming they don't want to strike in crowded areas, the university might just be the safest place for him."

"What makes you think they won't strike? This is the Dynasty! They thrive on fear!"

"The old Dynasty did." Cye tapped the leather-bound book resting just to his right. "This Ice Warlord, Touryuki, he could be after something completely different. Assuming he's as powerful as Talpa was, why hasn't he already created a foothold in this world? What's holding him back?"

Ryo fumed silently, glaring at Cye.

"I think he's trying to avoid a direct conflict with us, at least for now."

Kento took a bite out of a cookie. "Yeah, Ryo. I bet he thinks we'll kick his ass before he even has a chance to establish himself."

"The instant he learns we're divided he'll attack. It's well known that we're weakest when we're split up."

"In the old armors. You guys have new armors, now. The Dynasty doesn't know their capabilities." Mia opened a journal and fingered through a few pages. "Even what I've got isn't much," she creased down a page and scanned through it, "and I had you to interview. What does he have?"

"Cale knows about Sage's empathy, and that I can go into the Netherworld."

"But not about any of the others." Cye sipped his tea. "We have the advantage at the moment."

Ryo mulled over that for a few minutes, staring at the wisps of steam coming out of his cup. "What if I have to form Inferno? They'll be defenseless."

"Actually," Mia looked up from her book, "I'm not sure if you can form Inferno." That caught everyone's attention, and she ducked her head. "Well, being that these weren't designed from one armor. When you formed it with Suzunagi, it was to heal her. But when you tried to form it during the tests…"

Ryo cursed under his breath. He had forgotten that he hadn't formed it more than the one time.

"Maybe it needs a danger near you, to sense that it's needed. Sage said these armors have even more of a personality than our last ones."

"So it's some sort of failsafe? To prevent him from misusing the power?"

Cye rubbed his chin. "That's probably it. Sage would have a better idea, but I bet he'd agree with your theory."

Mia dug in her pockets for a pencil and started writing notes. "When the week's over, we'll have to test it out. It's obviously immune to the Warlord armors."

"Though maybe when our armors are fully donned they can influence them more-"

"Hello! I'm still here!" Ryo took in the blank faces of the Koji couple and sighed.

"Hey, how is Anubis doing anyways?" Kento glanced to the stairs. "He still hasn't woken up?"

Cye shook his head, leaving Mia to her writing. "No. I've tried rousing him since this morning, but nothing's working. At this point, I think we have to give up and just wait for him to do it on his own. If there's an attack, we'll just have to hope we can keep him protected."

"Him and Mia, and Yulie-hey, where is the little guy?" Kento looked around, trying to find the youngest of their clan.

"He wanted to play with White Blaze." Ryo jerked his thumb towards the back door. "I made them promise not to go too far."

Cye crossed his arms. "So you trust White Blaze to protect Yulie from the Dynasty, trust that he'll be safe even though neither of them are very powerful?"

Ryo opened his mouth, then shut it as his mind drew the parallel Cye was trying to make. "That's completely different!"

"You're right. Yulie doesn't even have an armor to defend himself. Or the ability to teleport out of harm's way, or able to heal himself and others-"

"Alright! I'll stop harping on Rowen! Geeze." Ryo pushed away from the table and stood up.

"Where are you going?"

"To keep an eye on Yulie." Ryo gave Cye a quick dark look before striding out of the dining room towards the back door.

"Well, his temper certainly hasn't changed."

Cye lightly punched Kento's arm. "I was just making a point. Truth be told, I don't like them so far away either, but I'm not going to deprive Rowen of his life. He's had a hard enough one, and he's earned the right to try and finish his schooling. When this war starts, who knows how long it'll last."

Mia rested her chin on her hand, a pen waving back and forth between her fingers. "I just wonder why he wants to stay. It's not like he needs to study there, and I doubt it's a final requirement."

Kento shifted in his seat. He had an inkling of why Rowen wanted to stay, but the question was, did he have the right to tell the others. Sure, Rowen had made him promise, but the others were going to ask at some point. _No, not my place._ Though if Sage was staying over, he'd find out. And Sage probably wouldn't be quite as understanding. He and Rowen had formed a bond during the war, but while strong, it wasn't as cemented as his and Rowen's was.

_Besides, he's probably just helping his brother with his disability. _It couldn't be a physical condition. He had appeared healthy when Kento had seen him earlier. _Maybe he's got some mental problem?_ He'd heard of it before, with other families. One kid got all the brains, and the other was basically retarded. _No doubt Rowen's helping him settle in._ It's what Kento would do for any of his siblings.

"Right. So, Kento, you want to spar in an hour or two? Mia and I are going to look up a few Dynasty wards, see if there's anything we can use to protect the house, but after that I'll be free." Cye rubbed the back of his head. "And I have to be honest, I'm kind of rusty."

Kento grinned and picked up another cookie. "I'd be more than happy to reacquaint you with the art of kicking ass."

()

Demons. The stakes were just raised. He couldn't help the Ronins covertly anymore, he couldn't try to sabotage the Warlord's attacks. With demons, there was always the chance one of them was around, or one was watching. The water one, the Seer, that'd be his hardest obstacle. His training would help keep him hidden, but if he wasn't careful, he'd be caught by the demon's magic sight.

That meant less trips to check on Kayura.

He didn't like the thought of that, or leaving her alone for so long, but she was trapped in a block of ice. It's not like she could see or hear him, but it was as much for him as it was for her. He'd just have to accept the fact that he was trapped, that his options were even more limited than before. There was nothing he could do about it.

At least the demons wouldn't find Kayura, not with the shielding around her temple. Only the Chryseoi would have the power, or lack of it, to enter, but they hated the Nether World. Once their meeting with Touryuki was over, they'd be gone. He'd have to keep an eye out for one or two of their spies, though. They've been known to use those quite a lot, and if one caught him, he'd be dead. Literally.

At least the Ouranoi wouldn't be joining in the battle yet. The war between them and their sprite counterparts had been going on for centuries, and it wasn't going to end any time soon. Sprites. Maybe they could help him help the Ronins. He couldn't bring any here, Touryuki would sense their presence immediately, but maybe, just maybe, he could contact one on Earth. He'd just have to tell them to help the Ronins.

Of course, he had no clue how to contact them. Maybe it'd be best if he just focused on cutting down the demons on this end. Again, the Seer was his biggest problem, but he recognized the arrogance, the self-confidence in the creature. If he waited long enough, the Einalioi might just bring about its own untimely demise. Then he could really start helping again. Until then, he could only hope that Anubis was getting better, and that he'd be able to help the Ronins.

()

Ryo wasn't sure what he was doing here, sitting by Anubis' bed. He couldn't wake the ex-Warlord, he knew that. After Kento had come out and agreed to watch Yulie, he had felt a calling up here. Or was it a calling? He wasn't sure. He just needed to be near the man. _Like when I was younger._ When the Ancient was still around, Ryo had always felt a calling, an urge to sit near the man, just to be in his presence. _Maybe that's it. Because he's our new Ancient._

Well, not so new, but it was something familiar. It seemed to be the only familiar thing around here. Yulie had matured since the last war, a skilled fighter and field medic. _He doesn't need me so much anymore._ Cye and Mia were still awkward to him. During the war, he had thought for sure there was an attraction with the university professor. Later, Sage had the same feeling, and the two of them had gotten into a small rivalry about it. But once the second Dynasty war was over, it wasn't Ryo or Sage Mia had gone to, but Cye. And shortly after the ordeal in Africa, they solidified their relationship with marriage.

Ryo tried to tell himself that he wasn't jealous of Cye, but for a few weeks he was. There was no denying it. Now, of course, he could see how it would've never worked out. Cye and Mia had similar temperaments and interests, Ryo had none of them. _It was just simple attraction._ Sage had come to that realization a lot sooner than he had. That's when he decided to return home to Sendai.

_They're getting on with their lives, they have a future._ Both Kento and Sage had no formal college training, but both of them were major business figures. Sage was taking over the family dojo, and Kento owned his own small company. _And where am I? No college education and just wandering around doing small jobs to get by._ He'd washed dishes, cleaned yards, did whatever he needed to when he ran out of money. Even Rowen was getting on with his life. He didn't have a job, but he was a full time student; and it was so important that not even Ronin duties would pull him away.

_So what's wrong with me? Why haven't I found a way in life?_ He wasn't college material, unless he was just doing soccer and martial arts. Those were his only real strong points, other than leadership. Maybe that's why he was so on edge about Rowen. He was worried about being split up, but he hated--no, hated was too strong a word--disliked the fact that his friend was doing better than him, and he was younger to boot. All he'd been trained for as a kid was to be a Ronin. He couldn't even follow in his father's footsteps; photographers without degrees weren't in much demand.

That's why he liked visiting the Nether World, chatting with Kayura and the Warlords. There were changes going on there, but like him, they were stuck in their situations. He was born to be a Ronin, and he lived for it. He couldn't move on, didn't know how to. Anubis understood more than any of the others. He had lived the part of the Warlord for so long, and then he had to fulfill the role of the Ancient. In the end, though, he ended up with neither role, and like him, was stuck in some sort of living limbo.

"So what should we do, Anubis? When this fight is over, what will happen to us?" He picked up the Cruelty armor orb and rolled it between his hands. "You can probably go back to being a Warlord, if Kayura doesn't want the armor back, but you'll still be as lost as me without an enemy to fight." Of course, the comatose man gave no response, but it was nice to voice his questions. "What happens to us soldiers that can't return to a normal life? Hell, we've never had a normal life."

That was the problem. Ryo had been trained as a kid. He didn't have Rowen's experience in sciences, or Kento's social training, or Sage's family structure, or Cye's adult perspective. He was just a warrior, a man that had lost his father and any hope at a normal life. "So we just get left in the dust, eh? Maybe I'll come and live with you in the Nether World. I'm sure you could use my help cleaning it up after this war." And still, silence was his answer. "Or I could go into coaching. You don't need much training for that." Not that soccer coaches made any money, but it'd be a start.

"I guess it's not really important right now, is it. I mean, until this war's over, we're going to be warriors, and nothing else." He set the orb down and patted Anubis' arm. "Get well soon, friend. We're going to need your help soon." _It'd be nice to have someone who understands me around, too._ Sighing, he got up and headed out of the room. He was the leader. He had to shut away these feelings, at least until the fighting was over. Then…well, he'd worry about his life when there was time to start living it again.

()

"Do you think Ryo's okay?"

"I'm sure he's fine, Cye."

Cye sighed and looked over at his wife. "Are you?" His sixth sense, the one that told him when his friends weren't doing so well, was telling him otherwise.

Mia reached over and squeezed the Ronin's shoulder. "You can't help all of them. You all faced personal demons over the past few years. Sage in New York, you in Africa, and the others during Suzunagi's attack. All except Ryo."

Cye rubbed his eyes and rested his arms on the table. "Because he was busy saving us, busy being the leader."

"And this time, I think it's hitting him. He's still the leader, but the dynamics have changed. Rowen wouldn't have stood up to him in the past, not like that. That, plus everything going on in everyone else's lives, it probably just struck home."

"And like all of us, he needs time." Cye folded his hands together and stared at the finish of the table. "It's hard just letting him do it alone. He's always been the most passionate of the group, always the one letting his emotions override his common sense."

"He's grown, just like you and the others." Mia got up from her seat and stood behind her husband, rubbing his shoulders. "You're still the oldest, Cye, but neither you or I need to be caretakers anymore. They're adults now, too."

"Yeah…" He relaxed as she kept working on his muscles, finally letting his head hang loosely. "I guess so. It's just a difficult thing to accept."

"Don't I know it. Kento and Rowen cooking breakfast? Yulie taking care of Anubis' wounds? It's not the Ronin family I remember. But things can't stay the same forever."

"Mmhmm." Cye blinked, then looked over his shoulder. "Is that your subtle way of telling me…something?" Mia's cheeks turned a shade pinker, but she shook her head. Cye wasn't sure whether to be relieved or disappointed. "Alright." He patted the tabletop. "What're we studying again?"

"I was going over that manuscript Rowen found, the one before you got the new armors." Mia retook her seat and flipped a few pages. "I've found references to the armors, Inferno, the Black Inferno. But towards the end there's some notes I think might be important."

Cye moved his chair closer. "Notes?"

"Another armor. The kanji's obscure, and the pages are slightly damaged, so I'm having trouble translating, but I think it's about Inferno."

Cye nodded. He knew the relevance of that. Inferno was undoubtedly going to be a big part of this war, and they'd need all the information they could get. "Any chance our earlier theories were right?"

"It's still too early to tell." Mia tapped her fingers against the pages. "It's too bad Suzunagi isn't here. She could probably tell us everything we want to know."

"She had to move on. At least she didn't take the manuscript with her."

"Yeah."

Cye stood up from his chair. "So what reference books do you need?" He exchanged a grin with his bride. They'd done this plenty of times before. Cye was good at research, but when it came to translations, he was just an errand boy.

"Masami's third edition. And Takeshi's Obscure Dialects." Cye nodded and headed for the house library. "Oh, and some green tea, when you get the chance."

"Righto." Cye's grin faded a bit as he searched for the books. He could help Mia, try and keep things normal, but he still worried about Ryo. _He'll make it, though. He's stronger than any of us._ And when all was said and done, they'd be there for him, just like he was always there for them. _Good luck, Ryo. I'm sure you'll find your way. _After all, it was Ryo of the Wildfire, and he always came out on top.

()

()

()

Author's Prattle: Sorry this one took so long to get out. I actually had it finished a while ago, but studying for finals took priority, then I had to move (which meant I couldn't really work on ANYTHING), and then not only did school start, but my sister graduated from high school (so we had a lot of relatives). SO…I finally edited and got it ready to post. My beta's computer got fried so I can't have her look over the final draft…but I think you've waited long enough. So…voila!

Disclaimers. I don't own Yoroiden Samurai Troopers/Ronin Warriors. They belong to Sunrise, Nagoya TV, and Sony Music Entertainment. The art book and CD info belong to their respective artists (which I believe is still Sunrise and Sony). Richard IS mine, though, as is this plot.

I have no idea when chapter four will be out. I have to get a second job (and maybe a third) to help pay for this place, and I'm way behind on all my other fics as well (yes, Gi7H fans, I'm working on it! I am!). On top of all of this…I'm actually trying to edit a book to be published, and writing another. So my time is pretty well eaten up…but I WILL get this one finished one day. I have great plans for this. As always, reviews are welcome, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter!


	4. Chapter 4

**Life and Soul  
**_By Cypher  
_Chapter 4

* * *

Rowen leaned back on his bed and gazed around the room. Richard's dorm wasn't as elegant as the one he'd had at Tokyo U, but it wasn't as bad as some of the American ones Kento had told him about. Even though this room hadn't been personalized by a student, it still felt welcome, warm. He just wished he could be here under better circumstances. 

Richard's room, while spacious, wasn't big enough to house three people; even two was pushing it. Since no one had arrived for the other two rooms yet, Rowen and Sage had each taken one. Rowen, of course, took the one next to his brother's. Even a room away, Rowen could sense the tension. His brother was…he wasn't quite sure how to describe it. It was obvious Richard was happy at Rowen's presence, but at the same time he seemed nervous as well, almost intimidated.

And Sage wasn't helping matters much. Rowen had informed him of the change in plans after his finals. When Sage heard the reason why, he was understandably upset. The fact that Rowen had kept this secret from all his friends didn't seem to placate the blond, either. In the interests of the city, however, Sage agreed to stay, to try and control Richard's empathic attack, or whatever it was.

That didn't mean he was warm to Richard. Actually, Sage wasn't warm with most people, but he was almost chilling to Richard. Rowen made a mental note to talk to Sage later about it. They were here to help his brother, to make him feel safe and protected. Sage's attitude was defeating that purpose, so much that Richard had simply retreated to his room.

Sage, of course, left rather than talk to him; said he had to go clear his head, to wrap his mind around this. On some levels, Rowen understood that this was difficult for him, that it was almost a…betrayal on Rowen's part. At the same time, though, Kento had accepted it and moved on, and was even eager to get to know his brother. _But then, Sage and I aren't as close as Kento and I._ Rowen was close with each of the Ronin, but while he was their friend, he could never quite match the solidarity he had with Kento.

"Rowen?"

Rowen glanced to the door, where Richard was standing, one arm clasping the other, which hung limp. He sat up and gave his brother a smile. "Hey. What's up?"

"Is, um, your friend and you…that is, are you two okay? I mean, he seemed upset and…is it my fault?"

Rowen shook his head and waved his brother over. Richard hesitated a minute before moving across the room and taking a seat next to him. "No. It's mine. I…haven't really told anyone about you. And after years of being their friend…it kind of ruins that whole trust thing."

Richard furrowed his brow. "You didn't tell them about me? But…why not? Are…are you ashamed?"

"What? No! Of course not!" Rowen pulled his brother into a one-armed hug. "I could never be ashamed of you! I just…well, during that thing I don't like to talk about, I didn't say anything because I didn't want the enemy to use you against me. And after that…" He trailed off. He actually didn't know why he never told them after the wars. Hell, they were in America to help Sage. That would've been the ideal time. Or even after the incident in Africa, when they had lost their armors. There was no threat that could've gone after Richard.

"I…It's okay. I was just…curious." Richard ducked his head. "Truth be told, not many of my friends know about you."

Rowen raised his eyebrows. "Oh really?"

"Well, I didn't have the reasons you did for not telling them. I mean, it wasn't exactly a normal divorce agreement. And you…what would they say if I kept talking about a brother they never saw?"

"They'd probably wonder if you needed to see a shrink."

Richard's mouth turned upward in a brief grin. "They wondered that anyways." He sat up and faced his older brother. "The truth was, you were special to me, but you weren't around. You weren't part of my life there. I mean, a few really close friends knew, but most just thought you were some obscure pen pal, or didn't even know you existed."

"So if I came to visit you, they'd have the same reaction?"

Richard opened his mouth, then shut it, thinking a minute. "I…don't know. Some, maybe, but I think they'd enjoy meeting you. Most would realize you're family because of," he waved a hand at Rowen's hair, then his own, "that, and they'd probably give me a hard time, but nothing like…what your friend's doing."

Rowen sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "That's how it should be with us, but at the same time…we went through a lot these past few years. We know each other so well that each of us thinks of the other as family."

Richard moved back a little to give Rowen some room. "So this would be about as big as a parent finding out their kid has, well, a kid."

"Basically, yeah. I'm sure Cye will be fine with it, and Kento's already warmed up to the idea of me having a little brother. But Sage…he took something like this personally. He thought he knew me, that we were close, and for me to pull this surprise out of nowhere…"

"It's disheartening."

Rowen nodded. "And Ryo…he'll probably go ballistic, but not because of the secret. Well, a little at the secret, but there's just a lot going on right now, and about everything is setting him off."

"Does he have finals too?"

Rowen bit his lip. "Not…quite, but about as stressful."

"Oh." Richard glanced at the door, rubbing the back of his neck. "You know, I…can't sense Sage."

"You can't?" Rowen felt the hairs on his neck go up, before he realized Richard didn't mean he had just vanished off the empathic radar, and therefore, Earth. "Oh, you mean because of his training."

"Uh huh. I mean, I know he's there, and there's this…something. I don't know how to describe it." He leaned back and looked up at the ceiling. "It's weird. He's like the first person ever to be a complete blank to me. No emotions, no memories, no symbols…just…there. It's…kinda disconcerting."

Rowen leaned down as well and ruffled Richard's hair. "I thought you didn't like your gift."

Richard scrunched up his nose. "I don't, not really. But I live with it. And when something…odd happens, I notice. And it's weird to me." He glanced over to his brother. "Though, there's something familiar about that…'there' feeling. I'm not quite sure what, but I have the oddest feeling that I've felt it before." He shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe it's just the mental version of déjà vu."

"Wonder what the technical term for that is."

"Mm. Dunno."

Neither said anything for a few minutes, just staring at the ceiling and thinking. Rowen finally refocused his attention back on his brother. "I've missed you, you know."

"I've missed you too."

"You know that I'll be here for you, right? That if you need me, I'll come."

"Uh huh." Richard turned his head slightly. "And…I do need you, in many ways. But I know that you…" He returned to looking at the ceiling. "I know you have your own life, that I have no right to impose, to intrude-"

"You're my little brother. That's your job."

Richard rolled his eyes. "Not really. And I'll try not to…bother you too much, if that's what you want."

"Do you really think that's what I want?" Richard remained silent at that question. "Richard…"

"You've lived a long time without me, Rowen. There are aspects of my life that I wouldn't want you to just barge in on. You must have that, too."

Rowen let out a slow breath through his nose. It was true, especially with all that was happening at the Koji manor right now. "Alright, that's true. And I'll let you know if you cross that line, but," he reached out and rubbed his brother's arm, "while I'm here, you're part of my life. You won't--can't intrude."

Richard nodded, and he shifted over enough that he could comfortably clasp Rowen's hand with his own. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." Rowen glanced to the doorway. He could sense Sage's armor energy approaching the dorm. "And give Sage some time. He's…he just needs to get to know you, to get comfortable with the idea."

"I will."

"And trust him. His grandfather is the foremost authority on empathic abilities. At least, according to Sage. If anyone can help you, it's him."

"Alright." Richard finally sat back up. "But if he starts talking about crystal placement and harmonic alignments, I can't promise not to laugh."

"If he starts talking about those, I'll be in the same boat." Rowen matched Richard's grin as he heard Sage open the front door.

* * *

The war room of the Dynasty was once one of Talpa's alternate throne rooms. When he hadn't had a the armor for his body, and it was just his spirit, that's where he would summon his Warlords to do his bidding. Once he was gone and the Warlords freed, the room had been left alone, abandoned. They had no use for it, and it was left to deteriorate. 

That changed when Touryuki took control of the castle. He formed a table with his powers, complete with chairs and a miniature throne at one end for him. The Mystical Portrait, which had given Talpa the ability to see the human realm and his own, was on the opposite wall, hanging high enough that all seated in the room could see it.

_It looked better in the throne room,_ Sehkmet thought as he took his seat at the seat to the left of the throne. While not present at the first demon meeting, his new master had summoned him to this one, presumably because he knew the specifics of the reinstated Dynasty army. _I hadn't realized Kayura was so thorough in dismantling the armors._

Their ranks once numbered in the thousands, but releasing their spirits wasn't enough for the young Ancient. She had melted down a good number of them, to ensure the damned couldn't be enslaved again. Unfortunately, she did this without the knowledge of any of the Warlords. _Clever little witch._ He had only managed revive a mere two hundred armors. By his count there were maybe three hundred in all, give or take a dozen. Not nearly enough to wage war against the Ronins, or Earth.

_Which explains why he wanted to recruit demons._ The armors could work as the palace guard, while the demons became the new cannon fodder. Looking around the room, though, he wondered if that would even work. Only one Chryseoi was present, the leader according to Dais, and he had taken the seat across from Sehkmet. The rest had returned to Earth, undoubtedly to prepare their ranks for war.

The rest of the chairs were taken up by Chthonioi, and he had to admit, he was surprised that the ice chairs held up to their heat. But then, if Touryuki's claims were true--that he could take on the power of Inferno--then something like a Chthonioi wouldn't even register on his master's radar.

He frowned when he didn't see any other demons, which actually disappointed him. He was hoping to see at least one Einalioi, of which he was descended from. His father had been a snake demon, which was a small subcategory in the Einalioi family. Dais hadn't offered any information on how many were present in the meeting earlier. _Does this mean they were wiped out?_

Touryuki pushed open the doors a minute later, and Sehkmet, along with the rest of the table, stood out of respect. They all kept their eyes on the Warlord until he sat down, which was a universal sign that they could as well. Only Dais remained standing, just behind Touryuki's right shoulder. _So he's the new favorite._ It wasn't surprising. After Anubis, and ignoring Kayura, Dais was always the favored leader of Talpa's Warlords.

"As you know," Touryuki's voice resonated, ending any small conversations that had restarted after he sat down, "the Ronins on Earth pose our biggest opposition. Their powers not only tap into the elemental powers, but they empower the bearers so much that not even Talpa could stop them." He folded his hands together and rested them on the table. "They don't worry me as much as the fact that there is one more armor bearer, one that not only rivals my power, but could defeat it."

"So what do you expect us to do," a Chthonioi spoke up with a slight growl. "If he rivals you in power, then we stand no chance against him."

"He has not awakened yet, and there is a chance that, if we strike swiftly, we can take him out."

"How do you know he hasn't awakened?"

"I will know when he is at full power. The trick will be finding him before that time." Touryuki waved his hand at the Portrait, and it showed an orbital view of Japan. "I know little of what his power is, or how it can defeat mine, but there are texts that describe who will inherit it."

Sehkmet frowned. "Who?"

"The texts speak of one who can see with a third eye, a powerful man with strength in the mind."

"A psychic." Dais spoke without prompt. "We're seeking a psychic."

"Correct."

The Chryseoi leader snorted. "I'll get Miss Cleo on the line for you."

"Your sarcasm isn't needed, Lucretius, nor is it wanted." Touryuki gave the old demon a hard stare before returning his view to the Portrait. "Earth has, of course, many 'psychics,' but the texts also state he will be hidden, protected by the Ronin without knowing it." He crossed his arms. "So our first goal is to get rid of his guardians."

Sehkmet leaned forward. "So we're going to attack the Ronin?" He was ready for a battle, lusted after one, even. He hadn't drawn blood in ages, and he was eager to do so again.

"Of course not, idiot! Talpa did that, and look where he ended up." To add insult to injury, Dais shot Sehkmet a dark look after Touryuki finished his reprimand. "We will strike them indirectly. As we speak, the Argyreoi are locating the families of the Ronin. We know Wildfire has no one, and that Strata's family is protected by sprites. But the other three have family ties that we can exploit."

Lucretius spoke up once more. "Where did you get the information about Wildfire and Strata?"

Touryuki glanced behind him, and Dais raised his head. "From me. Wildfire's status and time spent with the Ancient is well known to all who served the Dynasty. One of Talpa's minions attempted an attack on Strata's parents between the wars. He was defeated by Strata, and a mystical energy began guarding them. Lord Touryuki is the one who identified them as sprites."

"Let us deal with them," another Chthonioi sneered. "Sprites are weak. A small band of us could wipe out any protection they have."

"And reveal ourselves not only to the world, but to the Ronins in particular. We have only one chance to make this strike, and I don't want any of the Ronin to discover how it was done."

"I take it my people will be handling the attacks, then." Lucretius folded his own arms. "They won't like this, being exposed."

"Your people will be striking the Ronin families, yes. But one Chthonioi will accompany your attack parties. To ensure no evidence is left." He looked to the fire demons. "Got it?" In response, a couple demons formed fireballs. "Good.

"Once the Ronin morale has been damaged, they won't be so focused on protecting the one spoken of in the texts. Sehkmet," Touryuki finally faced him, "you will be in charge of that. Midway through the attacks you will begin searching the world with soldiers. I trust you can at least kill a human."

Sehkmet placed a fist over his heart and bowed his head. Touryuki was still upset at him for losing Anubis, and he had a feeling he'd be paying for it for a long time. "Just one question, my lord. How will I find him? I have no psychic abilities."

"Cale does. Use him however you need." Touryuki looked around the table. "I will summon you when the Argyreoi have located your targets. Until then, prepare your troops. Once I've eliminated the threat, we will attack the Ronin--and the human world--directly and with no mercy. Now leave."

The air around Lucretius rippled slightly as he vanished, a common Chryseoi trick that Sehkmet envied. It took the Warlords a while to fully teleport, and the Chryseoi could vanish in the blink of an eye. Some of the Chthonioi vanished in a wave of flame, while others filed out. _So teleportation isn't mainstream among their kind._ Sehkmet stood with a final bow to Touryuki. He was stopped, however, when Dais put a hand on his shoulder.

"My lord, I feel you have overlooked a crucial weakness to your plan."

Touryuki stared at Dais, then waved at the chair Lucretius vacated. Dais moved to the spot, but declined to sit. "What is it, Illusion. What worries you?"

"Strata and Wildfire. They single-handedly took on the Dynasty, and freed their friends. I fear that if we exclude them from the initial strike, they will retaliate as efficiently as before."

Sehkmet raised his eyebrows. Dais had a point, an excellent one. In all the time they had three Ronins captured, those two eluded their grasp, and even managed to free their friends. "He's right, master. We should send a distraction, something to wear them down and keep them from helping the others."

Dais gave him an approving nod before facing Touryuki again. "I suggest some soldiers, as well as the Einalioi."

"The Einalioi?"

_Einalioi?_ So there was one of his brethren here, but from the way Dais spoke, it sounded as if there was only one. _Have they been hunted out by other demons? Or…something more sinister?_

"His powers are the opposite of fire. He may be able to help weaken Wildfire." Dais leaned down somewhat, closer to the ice warlord. "I also feel he is…untrustworthy. This could perhaps prove that he truly is loyal to you. Plus," he paused, "he may even be able to locate the traitor Anubis. He wishes to be your Seer, after all."

Touryuki rubbed his chin, his eyes staring at the other wall but obviously not seeing it. Sehkmet was tempted to ask him to not send the Einalioi, especially if he was, as Dais' tone suggested, the last of the race. But then, he would look suspicious in his master's eyes, and if his demon cousin had to prove his loyalty by facing one of the more powerful Ronin…he couldn't do anything to stop it.

"Agreed. Send a Chthonioi with a contingent of soldiers to deal with Strata as well. Dais, you will coordinate the attacks, and keep me advised of the final results."

"You won't watch the battles yourself?"

Touryuki shook his head and stood, causing Sehkmet and Dais to bow towards him. "I must gather my power. The doorway created by that Ancient," he spit at the term, "can only be used by good. Some demons can travel to the human realm on their own power, or will have the Chryseoi teleport them, but you, and the soldiers, will require a bridge. It will take a lot of my energy to form one, energy that must be regained quickly, in case we fail." He turned and left the room, leaving the two Warlords alone.

"Fail?" Sehkmet frowned. "Talpa never mentioned anything about failing."

"Lord Touryuki, unlike Talpa, prepares for victory, but has a plan in case of defeat. Skills of any good strategist. Besides, I have a feeling if you, or any of the demons fail, they won't be alive long enough to try again."

"Comforting to know." Sehkmet glanced at the Portrait, once more a faded painting from feudal times without Touryuki's power to support it. "Won't creating the bridge make him vulnerable, leave him open to demon attacks?"

"Let me worry about that. You focus on coordinating your teams to hunt down this…psychic." Dais turned on his heel and marched out of the war room.

Sehkmet shook his head and followed. _Finding a psychic. At least Talpa was a lot more direct. All this…hunt and strike stuff is giving me a headache._

_

* * *

_

Sage sighed and opened his eyes, looking at the watch he had left on the bedside table. _Nearly one-am and not a single thing from that…kid._ He sat up and tossed the covers aside. Something was nagging at him, something that wasn't letting him get to sleep. _Probably everything that happened today. It is a lot to take in._

When Rowen had first told him they were staying with his brother, to try and help him through some trouble, he thought the term had been a euphemism for a fraternity friend. The fact that Rowen actually meant his brother, biologically…it hurt. Seriously hurt. He and Rowen were friends. Rowen knew every secret he had, but apparently he didn't know all of Rowen's.

And he understood why he didn't mention his brother during the wars. None of them really talked about their families. Even after they defeated Talpa the first time, no one ever brought up the topic. Mostly because Ryo didn't have one and, as the leader, they didn't want to hurt him emotionally, not even a little.

And that whole thing when they were in America--actually, he didn't want to think about that. Between his torture and Luna's death, it made sense that Rowen didn't want to bring up the fact that he had lied to his friends for years. Yeah, that's what it was. A lie by omission is still a lie, and Rowen had been doing it even with Kento, and they went way back, before they were even Ronin Warriors.

So to just up and say 'Oh, I have a kid brother and by the way, he's got mental abilities' was a lot to take in. At first Sage was angry, then betrayed, then upset…and now he wasn't sure where he stood. _How does one respond to something like this?_ He really had no clue what to feel, so he relied on his training, and felt nothing. Just pushed his emotions aside and went about the whole thing logically, coolly.

And if he hurt Rowen a bit because of it…okay, even though he knew it was wrong and could endanger his armor, it did bring him a little pleasure. Rowen had hurt him, and he wanted Rowen to hurt back. Sure, the others thought he was above such things, but the truth was he was still human, and he had every right to feel this way. He wouldn't dwell on it, or let it fester. Tomorrow he'd deal with it, drag Rowen away after whatever final he had to talk it over. With a new Dynasty war looming, he had to make sure not just his, but both their minds and hearts were back in sync. To leave a schism like this would endanger the entire world.

The kid still bugged him, though. Richard. He wasn't sure what it was about him. It was obvious he was intelligent, but at the same time he acted…shy, and when he wasn't sure, he deferred to his brother. Probably something he had done when they were little, and was just doing it unconsciously now. It still bugged him, though.

The fact that Sage couldn't even pick him up on the mental radar didn't help much, either. Rowen had said the kid had some empathic abilities. His empathic abilities were far stronger than just "some." If he had to guess, he'd say they were at least at his grandfather's level. And Richard didn't even acknowledge that, or nurse his powers, or anything. He thought they were a curse, and pretty much said so.

Maybe Sage was just taking it personally, because he had the same gift, had trained hard, and was no where near the kid's natural level. At least now he could understand why Rowen wanted him there. The terror instilled in the city last night wasn't a Dynasty strike, just a nightmare from the young Hashiba. _And no matter my feelings, I can't let that happen again._

Richard had explained what mental training he did have from martial arts--Aikido. Not Sage's personal favorite, but not a bad skill to train in. Sage showed him a few meditation techniques that his grandfather had taught to him, and explained some ways to control the power. While nervous, and a bit hurt at his tone, Richard did everything Sage showed him.

_And now he's sleeping soundly, while I'm not._ Richard fell into a light slumber around ten, and Rowen had fallen asleep about an hour ago, spending most of the night studying for tomorrow's exam. _And I can't sleep a wink. But why?_ He did a mental sweep of the campus. There wasn't any Dynasty activity he could pick up, but something was off, something that wasn't letting him get any shut eye.

A moan interrupted his thoughts, and he looked across the common room. His door, along with Richard's, had been left open in case Sage needed to do any quick empathic work. Another sound, this time a whimper, flitted to his ears. Getting off his bed, he quickly knocked on Rowen's door before entering Richard's room.

Richard had only said his nightmares were bad, that he couldn't escape from them, and that he was broadcasting his feelings. He hadn't mentioned anything about the sweat, or the writhing. If Sage didn't know any better he'd say the teen was having a seizure. A minute later the mental assault came, and Sage fell back to the wall, putting a hand to his mouth. The emotions Richard was broadcasting had sliced right through his defenses. The sudden loss of his mental shields threw his world off kilter, and it took him a few minutes to gather his senses, not to mention fight off the urge to be pulled into the abyss of torture that now pervaded the area.

Rowen was by his side shortly after that, paler than usual and looking at his brother. The terror had struck him as well, but Sage could tell he was pushing past it because of how concerned he was. "He…he'll be alright."

"Does he look alright to you?!"

Sage ignored the hysterical tone. It was a side effect of the emotional strain. While he couldn't help Richard mentally, his healing senses were just fine, and physically, other than some minor bruising, Richard was fine. _But what good is a body without a mind to guide it?_ If Sage was having a hard time dealing with this, who knew what Richard was going through. Taking a deep breath and steeling himself, he stepped towards the bed; not an easy feat, as the closer he was the stronger the empathic broadcast got.

"Richard? Richard! Wake up!" Rowen tried to follow Sage, but he stepped back immediately, unable to handle the emotions. "Richard, please!"

Sage noted that Rowen was close to hyperventilating. He had to do something, to get Rowen distracted. "Rowen, get some ice. And a towel. Go! If you want to help him, do that!" Rowen stared at his brother a little longer before giving a brief nod to Sage and leaving, tension visibly vanishing as he exited the room. _He's still tense, but not as much._ Richard was giving off some powerful stuff. It was a good thing the other room mates hadn't shown up yet, or they'd be in worse shape. At least he and Rowen had some defenses thanks to the armor.

Pushing as much of the broadcast aside as he could and channeling the rest, he finally made it to the bed and debated on what to do. He could hold Richard down, but there was a chance the kid would hurt himself, or both of them, because of his struggles. _Or I could try reaching into his mind, to heal it._ It was a long-shot, but physical connections gave Sage more power over the mind he was trying to enter. _I just hope his shields are down._ If they weren't, he might just end up like Anubis. Hesitating a minute, he grasped Richard's temples and shut his eyes.

Images flashed across his mind instantly, and they came as a blur, one meshing into another without pausing. His mind could barely process the visuals, and he gave Richard kudos for taking the task on. What he could make out were images from the first War against the Dynasty, specifically that last battle with Talpa, and how they were pulled into his armor. Yet interspersed with those images were others, ones he didn't recognize.

One set seemed to revolve around an ice world that seemed familiar, but he couldn't figure why. The Warlords were there, along with…devils, from what he could tell. There was blood everywhere, and bodies. Some of the devils were devouring the corpses, and in the background he could make out a crucified figure--"RYO!"

He flinched at how he cried out at the same time as Richard screamed. _Focus, Sage! Calm him down! Sooth him!_ The other set of images weren't helping, though. It was a man he didn't recognize, lying on a table. There were inscriptions around it, runes. He didn't recognize those either, but he did recognize the Ancient. He gave a brief chant and some energy struck the chest of the man, and Sage not only witnessed it, but he felt it. The shock was just strong enough that he collapsed to the floor, shuddering as he tried to get air to his lungs.

The mental flood seemed to slow now, and Sage looked up to the bed. The images were becoming muddled, and Richard was calming down. Without the mental onslaught, Sage could finally focus on getting his mental shields re-established, maybe even help heal Richard's mind. Pushing himself to his knees he looked at the bed…and froze. Richard was curled up in the fetal position, still whimpering, but that's not what worried Sage.

His aura…was black. The same black presence he had sensed the other day when he had astral projected. The aura that saved him from the clutches of the Dynasty…was Richard. _What…what's going on? Who IS he?_ Putting a hand to the temple again, Sage tried once more to peak inside Richard's mind. His defenses were reasserting themselves though, and Sage couldn't sense anything. _Except…_ There was something else, now. Something that wasn't Richard, but a mind he did recognize. "A…Anubis?"

Sitting back on his haunches, he stared at the blue-haired teen, trying to comprehend the implications of this. Rowen's little brother had saved him from the clutches of the Dynasty, but didn't know it. He had an evil aura, yet seemed…good. And Anubis was in contact with him. "Who…who ARE you?!" And what had Rowen dragged him into?

* * *

"No. No, Sage, there's been no change." Cye rubbed his eyes and climbed out of bed, waving at his wife when she gave him a bleary look. "I checked before I went to sleep." 

"Then check again," Sage replied over the phone.

Ambling out of his bedroom and down the hall, Cye glanced into the room Anubis was sleeping in. "Still there, still unconscious." He yawned and leaned against the wall. "Sage, it's nearly one-thirty. What's going on?"

"I'm not sure. There's something…suspicious going on. I'm not sure how to take it yet. I've either found an evil minion…or a friend. Whatever it is, it's connected to Anubis, maybe even why he's been comatose for so long."

Cye checked one last time that Anubis was still dead to the world. Earlier in the day Ryo had put the armor orb in the ex-Warlord's hand, to see if its power could jolt the man awake. It hadn't helped, though Anubis had reflexively curled his fingers around the sphere. He was still holding it. _Wait a minute…_ He rubbed his eyes and made sure he wasn't seeing things. "Actually, it looks like the kanji in his orb is glowing faintly."

"But he's still asleep?"

"Yes." Of that, Cye was sure. "What's this about? Who or what is this thing that's got you so bothered?" He heard Sage suck in a breath on the other end of the line, and when he spoke again, it was quieter, like he didn't want anyone to overhear him.

"Rowen hasn't shared this with you, but he…he's got a brother. A literal brother. That's why we're staying over, to try and help him through some psychic trauma."

Cye opened his mouth, then shut it, his brow furrowing. _A brother?_ _Was that who he was writing to?_ Between bouts of the war, when he and the guys were recuperating at Mia's, he'd caught Rowen writing letters every now and then. As one of the more responsible guys, he often ran errands with Mia. Thinking back, he vaguely recalled a couple envelopes were mailed to someplace in America. _So the Hashiba on the envelope wasn't for his mother, it was for…his brother._

He had to admit, it wasn't that surprising, either. Rowen never talked about his family. Even after they had met his mother and father, Rowen had dropped the subject. So the fact that he might have some secrets about it, including a sibling, wasn't too far out a concept. _At least, for me._ The other guys probably wouldn't be as accepting. From Sage's tone he could tell that the blond wasn't exactly thrilled about being left in the dark for so long.

"The problem is, after the psychic strike of his, I caught a glimpse of his aura. It's evil, Cye. The aura I saw was black, as dark as Talpa's. But I'm also sensing Anubis' psyche, and he seems like a nice enough kid…"

"So you're not quite sure where he stands." Cye was quickly picking up on Sage's feelings. He, like the other Ronins, had taken Sage's crash course on auras. Black was the power that surrounded Talpa, Mukara, even Suzunagi for a time. _But just because the aura is evil doesn't mean he is. He could just have…misguided feelings, or something influencing him._ The latter two people were proof of that. "You said there was a psychic attack?"

"He caused the terror in Kyoto last night. And the one tonight. He's not meaning to, though. In fact, he hates his power, and what it's doing."

"Is there a way for you to block him? Or banish his powers?" He heard Sage sigh.

"I tried. But he's…my grandfather would have difficulty against him. He's powerful, Cye. And if the Dynasty gets their hands on him…"

Cye heard the potential threat. This was someone they would have a hard time dealing with. _If he's evil._ The fact that he was Rowen's brother gave him an advantage. At least, in his mind. "Keep an eye on him, but unless he becomes a real threat, don't worry too much about it." They had enough to worry about as it was. "I'll break the news to the other guys."

"Without Rowen?"

"Ryo's already paranoid about the wave of terror from last night. If I don't tell him…we could be launching ourselves into battle before we're ready." It was a bit of an exaggeration, but Ryo was seriously worried about what was going on up there. After all, that was Talpa's mode of operation: create fear and feed off it.

"How goes the research?"

Now that Cye could reassure Sage about; well, sort of. "From what we can tell in the texts, there's a special key to activating Inferno. Probably because it's so much more powerful than before. What that key is, though…" They still hadn't found that out. "We don't know yet. Which means-"

"We may not have Inferno for a while. That's fine, Cye. We're more powerful than we were last time."

"Maybe." Touryuki's information was vague, but it implied he was powerful, too powerful for even Talpa to handle. "We're going to keep working on it, though."

"Let me know if you need us home."

"I will-" Cye heard a voice in the background. _Must be Rowen._ "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. He's waking up, I gotta go."

"Alright, Sage. Take care."

"You too. Bye, Cye."

Cye hung up the phone and watched as the glow in the kanji orb started to dim. "What are you up to, Anubis? And what's it got to do with Rowen's brother?" He had a feeling this war was going to take a few interesting turns.

* * *

_"That went far quicker than last time." _

Richard shuddered against the arm that held him._ "It still hurt."_ He looked up at the figure, trying to define more than the kind green eyes. _"Who are you? And why…why do I have to go through this? What's happening to me?"_

_"We've been through this, Richard. Your full power-"_

_"It's not just my mental powers!" _For an instant he was tempted to shove the gentle spirit away. He knew what an empathic jump felt like. This was more than that, far more. There was something else growing in him, and this person knew what it was._ "I want to know what's really going on! What is this? Who are you, and what's happening to me?!" _

The figure tensed beside him, and Richard wondered if he'd gone too far. No matter how scared or angry he was, he didn't want to push the man away. The figure was the only person helping him through this, the only one who knew what was going on. _"Please…I can't keep going through this. Tell me what's going on." _

_"I can't, Richard. But you're right, there is a power growing in you, a power tied to your mental abilities. That's why your powers are evolving." _The man pulled his arm away from Richard, but the teen grabbed the wrist. _"Richard…" _

_"My brother. I've seen him both times. He…he knows, doesn't he? He's a part of this…somehow." _It was logical, and while he wasn't exactly rational after nightmares, he could still put two and two together. _"This has to do with his armor, and the armors of his friends. Why else would I be seeing them?" _

The man stopped resisting Richard's grip. _"I see you have your brother's quick mind." _Richard could swear the spirit sighed._ "I wish I could explain it to you, but I can't. Not until you're ready. And you're not." _

_"How am I not ready? Why can't you explain it to me before?"_

_"Because once you know, the power will consume you. If you're not ready…it will destroy you."_

Richard stared into the green eyes, trying to read them and the intentions of the person behind them. _Destroy me?_ He was liking this situation less and less. _"And what happens if I figure it out…before I'm ready?" _Rather than respond, though, the spirit faded out of existence. _"Hey! Answer me! God damn it!"_ "ANSWER ME!"

"Richard!"

Richard felt himself enveloped in a hug and he struggled a minute before he realized it was his brother. Hesitantly, he ran his hands down Rowen's arms, then around his back and returned the hug. "Rowen…"

"You had me worried, really worried!" Rowen pulled away, but kept his hands on Richard's shoulders. "You said they were bad, but you looked…I thought…"

"He's fine, Rowen. At least, physically he is."

Richard looked to his left, where Sage was putting a cell phone on the bed table. _Maybe physically…_ He swallowed at the hard look the blond was giving him. _He knows something, something about me that he doesn't like._ He absently rubbed his chest. It hadn't happened to him, but he could feel the pain the man in his nightmare had. He also didn't fail to notice how Sage flinched at the action. _The nightmare. He knows about…about what I saw._ He wasn't sure how comfortable he was about that.

"Richard? Are you sure you're okay?"

Richard turned his attention to his brother again, grinning weakly to reassure the worried look. "Y-yeah. I'm fine. It was…it wasn't as bad this time. Faster. I-I think I'm getting used to the pain…" He looked down to his bedspread, absently wondering why a damp towel was laying there. He didn't want to bring up the other power, not yet. "Did I…is the city…scared again?"

"We haven't checked the reports, but since I couldn't block you…" Sage finally shifted his gaze away from him and out the window. "I'd say you did it again."

Richard hung his head, only slightly comforted by Rowen rubbing his back. _Again. And it's not the last time._ He eventually shifted away from his brother and got off the bed. "I'm, um, going to take a shower."

"You sure you don't just want to talk-"

"He's sweaty and stinks. Let him go, Rowen."

Richard fought the urge to stick his tongue out at the blond. So he wasn't the cleanest at the moment, but damn it, could anyone who had this problem get through the night without ending up the same way? "I'll be back quickly. I promise. I…if you need anything, I'll be at the end of the hall." He was out of his room before he realized he was still in his boxers. Turning around, he found Sage standing in his doorway holding a pair of sweats.

"Forget something?"

Richard felt heat spread across his face and he ducked his head, snatching the pants from the man. "Thanks," he mumbled as he tugged them on. As if feeling vulnerable wasn't bad enough, this guy had to humiliate him, too. _He's just…still upset. Yeah, and I probably affected him, too. After all, just because he's empathic doesn't mean he's immune to the broadcast._

Picking up a towel, he made his way down the hallway, nodding to one of his neighbors, obviously shaken up. He offered the student a comforting grin, but he knew it didn't come off as helpful as he meant for it to be. _Not when I don't feel very comfortable at the moment._ He slipped into the bathroom and made a beeline for the showers._Déjà vu. _He pulled off his clothes and started the water. _I really hope we can break this cycle soon. _He ran a hand through his hair._ This isn't how I thought college would be, this isn't how I wanted to start the rest of my life. _He shut his eyes as the water poured over him, silently wishing that he could wash his problems away as well.

* * *

For all his clout, he found that the Einalioi's skills were severely lacking. Twice now he had snuck into the demon's lab, and both times the aquatic creature had taken no notice of him. That didn't mean he was going to make presumptions or a stupid move. It was still too risky to visit Kayura again, or to even try contacting the Ronins. 

But he could spy on the self-proclaimed Seer. The demon was good at using water to see things, but so far all he'd managed to do was catch glimpses of Earth. Apparently, he didn't have enough power to maintain a solid lock in the pool. Good for him, bad for the Einalioi's lifespan. He had to give the creature credit, though. He was practicing almost non-stop to get better.

And while he wasn't an excellent Seer, he still posed the greatest threat. He was protected from the Warlords' minds, and Touryuki was blinded to him, but demons he couldn't protect himself from. The other races were inconsequential. A danger, but they couldn't find him. The Einalioi could, and he had to be eliminated.

And he would have the chance soon. Touryuki was sending the water demon out in the battle against Wildfire. It would be tricky, and if he wasn't careful he'd get caught anyways, but there was a chance he could manipulate events that would lead to the demon's demise. Sehkmet would be upset, but Touryuki obviously didn't care for the creature, so no deep investigation would occur.

"Seer!"

He cursed silently and pulled himself even farther into the shadows. He thought he'd had a good handle on where all the Warlords were, but Cale just barged in and he hadn't even sensed the Warlord's approach. He debated sneaking out, but to do so he risked revealing himself, physically or mystically. Instead, he made a mental note to recheck his tracking skills and remained as still and quiet as he could.

The Einalioi folded his hands together and bowed slightly to the intruder. "Please, call me Seleucus, Lord Cale."

Cale growled and crossed his arms. "Have you found Cruelty?"

The demon's confidant stance faltered for a moment. "He remains…elusive."

He knew what the demon was talking about. The water scrying had detected Anubis in three different places over Japan. And none of those three locations were pin-point specific, but broadly placed. Most likely the new armor energies of the Ronin were diffusing Anubis' life force. At least, until the Cruelty armor was donned.

"Touryuki wants him found. Now!" Though he was only in his sub-armor, Cale still managed to loom over the demon.

The intimidating maneuver seemed wasted on the creature, however. It merely flicked its tail. "Is that the sole reason for visiting me? I thought you had more pressing matters to attend to."

Cale narrowed his eyes. "Meaning what?"

"Your own psychic powers are limited. How will you find Touryuki's target with such weak abilities?"

That certainly caught his interest. He'd always known of Cale's psychic powers, but never of their extent. In all honesty, he'd thought the armor had granted the Warlord that power, to counter Halo's gifts.

Cale took a threatening step forward and grabbed the Einalioi by the edge of its shell. "And what do you know of my 'limits?' Have you been scrying into affairs you have no authority to?!" The threat in the man's tone was clear: if the demon had been spying on a Warlord, he wouldn't live.

And once more, he was impressed. The Einalioi seemed unfazed by the danger to his life. Judging by the body language, the demon considered Cale no more threatening than he would an antagonized canine. Which, if he thought about it, wasn't too far off the mark.

The demon half-bowed its head. "I meant no disrespect, but I have watched the wars waged by Talpa. I know of your limits by your actions during the first and second invasion attempts." It was apparently enough for the Warlord, as he shoved the amphibian back. Seleucus stumbled, nearly falling into the seeing pool, before regaining his balance. "I was merely asking how you will find a human when your skill lies in canine telepathy."

Cale crossed his arms and muttered, "I'm working on it." He stood up a little straighter. "And I can read human minds with physical contact! My skills aren't as limited as you think!"

"So you'll touch every human in Japan in the brief span of time you have?" A growl once more resonated from the Warlord. "I thought as much. However, if--how do humans put it? You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours."

At this, the Warlord snorted. "You can't even manage to use the scrying pool. What could you offer me?"

"A temporary psychic boost." The demon picked up a scroll. "I have looked through the spirit's belongings. Badamon, wasn't it? He had many…interesting ideas. They were useless to him, of course." Unrolling the parchment, he placed it on the podium standing to the left of the pool. "With a few changes, and an infusion of demonic power, his useless ideas have new life."

He cursed to himself. If the Einalioi wasn't as inept at spells as he was at scrying, he could find himself in deep trouble. And a psychic spell…he'd have to keep his distance from Cale. And any others that were granted the ability.

Cale's mouth thinned out as he eyed the shelled creature. "And it would allow me to seek out the man Touryuki is searching for?"

"Most definitely. But," Seleucus let the scroll curl back up, "power like this can't just be granted. It will cost you."

Cale raised his chin. "I'm a Warlord! With one word I can have you crushed!"

"And with one word, I can liquidate this spell, and with it any hopes you have of finding this Earth-born psychic."

He watched the two stare at each other, unsure of who would be the victor. He'd never known a non-Ronin that could outlast the Warlord. To his surprise, however, Cale was the one who looked away first. _Cale acquiescing to a demon... _He shook his head.

"What is it you want," Cale forced out, each syllable laced with disgust. Whether it was aimed at himself or the demon, though, he couldn't tell. Seleucus simply smiled and walked towards the door, indicating with a wave of his arm that Cale should follow.

When he was sure both of them were gone, and that no one else was around, he emerged from his hiding place. _I need to get rid of that demon. _And he had thought things couldn't get much worse. He should've known they could, and would. But he would adapt to the situation change. _First get rid of the Einalioi. Once he's gone, I can focus on freeing the others and helping the Ronins._ He just hoped he would still be around after the first goal was achieved.

* * *

Kento never considered himself an early riser, at least compared to the rest of his family. His business was always one of the latest to open. It was different at the Koji residence, though. So far, he'd been the first one up each morning. Apparently, none of the other guys got up before six, with the exception of Sage, who seemed to rise with the dawn. But then, that was only proper for the bearer of Halo. 

With Sage gone, though, he expected to be the sole person up this morning. So he was quite surprised when he found Cye and Mia talking quietly in the kitchen. The two of them had been doing research non-stop, trying to find out how to get the new Inferno to work and searching for weaknesses in their new enemy. Since Kento had volunteered to do kitchen duty in the morning, they'd taken the opportunity to sleep in.

Not today, for some reason. When he stepped into the room, both of them quieted down and watched him. He tried to offer them a grin, but he ended up yawning. "Mornin' guys."

"Morning, Kento."

"Sleep well?"

"Yeah. Did you two get any sleep at all?" He moved over to the coffee maker, a vice of Mia's and one he'd picked up while in America.

"Enough," Cye responded, wrinkling his nose as Kento poured himself a cup of java. "We were just discussing how to break some news to Ryo."

"What sort of news?" Kento leaned against the counter and sipped the hot liquid. _Mental note: make sure you make the coffee from now on._ He liked it strong, but not this strong. He found a new respect for Mrs. Koji. "Bad news?"

"Not really. We just…well, he's starting to get paranoid with everything going on in Kyoto, and the chance that he may not be able to form Inferno again." Mia glanced at Cye, who nodded. "Kento, Rowen's got a brother."

Kento raised his eyebrows. _So, he decided to tell them long-distance. Guess it's safe that way._ "Yeah, he just told me the other day. And he asked me to keep quiet about it."

Cye nodded. "Considering the fact that we're on the brink of another war, it's understandable. But Sage, well, he discovered that this person is responsible for the city-wide terror."

That got Kento's attention. "He's…what?"

"He's got some sort of empathic ability that's getting out of control, and Sage is worried." Cye ran a hand through his hair. "He's also connected to Anubis, though we don't know how, or why."

"Is he the reason Anubis is in a coma?"

"We don't know." Mia stood up and walked to the counter, nudging Kento to get him to move so she could pour herself another cup. "Sage is keeping an eye on the situation, but we're worried Ryo will think he's a…scout or something."

"Is he?"

"Again, Sage is trying to figure it out. Rowen…" Cye trailed off, once more exchanging a look with his wife.

It didn't take a genius to figure out what they wanted to say. "Rowen's biased, we can't count on his judgment." Hell, Kento would be if he was in the same position. He could never consider one of his siblings a threat to the world, not unless they did something overtly evil. "Are they going to bring him back here?"

"Sage is going to call sometime this afternoon with an answer. He thinks he can eke out the truth from him. If we're lucky, it'll just be coincidence that he's having this psychic trauma right now."

Mia put in her two cents. "Coincidences don't happen around you guys. There's a reason he's going through this, and a reason he's connected to Anubis." She took a sip from her mug. "The question is, what is it?"

Kento shrugged, as unable to answer as they were. _Better take Yulie out for some extra training, in case Rowen's brother is a threat. _He really hoped the kid wasn't, but he wasn't naïve enough to leave everything to hope. "Speaking of Anubis, how is he?"

"He actually muttered something about an hour ago. Pole arm?" Cye tilted his head. "No…Pole…something."

"I thought it was Polaris." Mia moved to the freezer and opened it. "Though why he'd mutter something about a star, I have no idea." She tossed a box of frozen waffles to Kento. "You deal with those, I'll feed the cat."

"Cat?" Kento blinked, then brightened. "Ah, White Blaze. Right." He'd completely forgotten the tiger was here. In fact, he'd been quieter than usual. Other than playing with Yulie and following Ryo on walks, he'd left the house and its occupants alone. "Is he feeling alright?"

"I think he's upset about Ryo, like we all are." Mia dug through the fridge and pulled out a raw halibut. "I'm sure he'll be his usual self once Ryo works out his troubles."

"Yeah." Cye brought his tea cup to the sink. "Polaris….yeah, I think you're right, it was Polaris." He rubbed his chin. "Didn't the Dynasty book talk about that star in one of its myths?"

"I'm not sure…" Mia headed for the back door. "Why don't you check that out today, while I finish up with that last bit of translation." She smiled at Kento. "I think it may explain how to form the new Inferno."

"Cool!" If so, it was at least one thing going right for them. He just hoped it wasn't the only thing. _Polaris…wonder what they've been smoking in the Netherworld to go off on a tangent like that._

_

* * *

_

Ryo stared up at the ceiling, blinking slowly. He knew this ceiling, knew it better than he knew any other. This was the ceiling he'd woken up to after his first great battle with Talpa. This was the ceiling he stared at after the guys had been kidnapped, before he left to search for them in the Nether realm. And this was the exact same ceiling he'd spent a month watching after the incident in Africa.

And after all this time, he'd finally come to a conclusion about this ceiling: he hated it. If he was staring at the ceiling it meant he was either hurt, or worried about his friends, or thinking about a coming battle and how it could be his last. In all the years he'd been a Ronin, the ceiling hadn't changed, and thinking about it, nor had he.

_I wonder what Rowen sees when he looks at his ceiling, or Kento, or even Yulie._ He felt the heat from the sun pierce through the light curtains and crawl across his arms. He wasn't ready to get up yet, didn't want to face the day. _Something happened._ He wasn't connected to the Ronins the same way Sage or Cye was, but remanence of Inferno's power made sure he sensed important things. He hadn't sensed Cye's vision of Touryuki.

Last night, he'd sensed something from Sage, something haunting and powerful, and he knew when he got up, he'd have to face whatever it was. It wasn't as simple as a Warlord attack or he'd have been called to do battle. This was…he wasn't sure. All he knew was that for a moment, he'd felt as if the air had been knocked out of him and his heart could no longer sustain him. It was only a moment, but it had felt so much like the touch of death. He'd felt it one too many times already because of their battles.

But never like this. He was sure there was some explanation, some reason Sage's essence had done that to him. He wasn't sure he'd like it, though. Terror had swept through Kyoto one night, if it'd happened again, maybe that was it. But…did that explain this feeling? _No, this was more than simple terror. This was…this was power. And not the good kind._ Which meant there might be another enemy after them, or worse, a new enemy that'd teamed up with the new Warlord leader.

A knock at his door brought him out of his thoughts and he sat up. "Come in?"

Yulie poked his head in. "Ryo, you ever gonna get up?"

He offered the kid a brief grin. "Yeah, was just about to," he lied.

Yulie opened the door further and rested against its frame. "You okay? You look like hell."

The grin vanished. "Gee, thanks."

Yulie held up a hand. "I'm just worried. I mean, you haven't looked like this since…well, Talpa's defeat."

Great, so he looked as bad as he felt. "Just a fitful night of sleeping. Bad dreams, you know?"

The young teen obviously bought the lie, as he nodded. "Ohhh. Yeah, I get them sometimes too. I guess with everything about to happen, it makes sense you'd have them." He rubbed the back of his head and kicked at the floor. "If, um, you ever wanna talk or anything…"

"Thanks, Yulie, but I'm sure it's nothing a shower and a hot meal won't cure." He grinned again, this time really meaning it. "But thanks for the offer."

"Well, it's the least I can do after everything you've done." He glanced over his shoulder. "Kento's calling. I'll try and save you some waffles, but you'd better come down soon."

"I'll be down in a couple of minutes."

"Cool." Yulie left, closing the door behind him.

Ryo's grin faded as he heard the kid walk away, his thoughts from earlier already returning to the forefront of his mind. _I can't burden Yulie with the feeling. It'd scare him half to death._ He scrubbed at his eyes with the palms of his hands, kicking himself for the inadvertent pun. _Someone said this war wouldn't be like any other. _He had a feeling it was the understatement of the century. Whatever had disturbed him last night was evil, and he vowed to take it down before it was able to do any more harm, to anyone.

* * *

Author's Prattle: Well, this certainly took a while to get out, didn't it. With luck, though, all my writing should pick up in a couple weeks. I got the job! I have about four hours during the shift to do homework, read, or write. Guess what I'll usually do (yes, I have some avoidance issues). It's been great having a writing kick, and I'm looking forward to having a regular one. 

Disclaimer. I don't own Ronin Warriors/Yoroiden Samurai Troopers. It belongs to Sunrise and whoever dubbed it. I DO own Richard, as well as certain demonic aspects. Hmm, that came out wrong. Ah well.

So, as usual, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. And reviews are always welcome.


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